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 Dissent

Protect dissent

              Protect Dissent, Injustice and the Meanings of America.  Our system is not supposed to be one of mob rule. The First Amendment protects minority views, no matter how unpopular. As a citizen you have a strongly protected right to disagree with the government, and everyone else if you choose. In fact, it is your patriotic duty to criticize the government.  I agree with this statement.  If you disagree with the government it is your prerogative to speak up, however you must do so in a civilized, peaceful manner.  I would like to use the example of former President's Trump speech and the Capital riot on January 6, 2020. Former President Trump used spoke repeatedly to his supporters to fight Congress on accepting the electoral college results that showed Joe Biden won.  President Trump used the right to free speech, but did his free speech cause the riots?   Trump spoke at a rally for his supporters on January 6, 2020, the supporters gathered at a "Save America" organized to challenge the election of President Joe Biden.  During this speech he urged supporters to never give up. He made statements such as "if you don't fight like hell you're not going to have a country anymore". He also stated "We will never give up, we will never concede". This speech lasted approximately 70 minutes. At one point in the speech Trump states "I know that everyone here will soon be marching over to the Capitol building to peacefully and patriotically make your voices heard."  Although in his speech Trump also mention we a lot, he didn't join his supporters after the speech when they marched over toward Congress.  We all know what happened after.  I personally find it a disgrace to our country that this happened.  It is an embarrassment to America. The Insurrection at the Capitol became violent. The rioters did over $1.5 million of damage to the Capitol building itself. The insurrectionists allegedly assaulted 140 police officers. The attack resulted in 138 injuries and one death of a police officer. This situation is a very interesting dilemma of free speech.  Mr. Trump held a rally and using his right to free speech spoke to thousands of his supporters.  Did he get them fired up enough to cause the riots? Did he direct him to storm the Capitol in his speech?  These are the questions I ask myself. Even if he hinted at marching to the Capitol in a peaceful manner, how did it get out of control?  If someone speaks their mind, is it their  responsibility for the actions that are taken after they hear the information?  The protestors had a right to protest, and let their feelings be known in a peaceful manner. I am not sure why people think it is okay to destroy property to get their voice heard.  We have seen this in many situations over the past year in addition to the Trump scenario we saw the same destruction in violence regarding the George Floyd and Breonna Taylor injustice.  While I agree that what happened is wrong.  A lot of violence that took place during those riots destroyed their own community.  Hurting businesses, and people that worked hard their entire lives to build something only to have it torn down due to ugly riots. I am not sure what will change in the world or make it better.  I think some of it has to come from the media being more open and honest and not so biased. 

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