The First Amendment
Rev. Dr. J. Byron Moore
Hello, I am the Reverend Dr. Byron Moore, Pastor of the Greater Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Nashville, TN. Each Sunday, I, along with clergy and clergy organizations that constitute the African American Clergy Collective of Tennessee, which is a 501 (c) (4) advocacy organization of black clergy across this state, will be sharing a weekly update called Facts and Faith in Five.
The First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which dates back to 1791, whereby its adoption in that year provided protection for the freedom of speech, religion, and the press, is under assault, as well as the Voting Rights Act of 1965. It is also critical to note that this amendment to the U.S. Constitution protects both the right to peaceful protests and the right to petition the government. The first part of what we know as the Bill of Rights was created to protect civil liberties under federal law. Part of the freedom of expression is related to the ability to vote according to one’s convictions without the impediment of government tampering. Under the leadership of the current Federal Administration, we have seen the First Amendment under attack, violated, and outright disregarded.
The calls for the defunding of media outlets such as NPR or PBS that do not share the views of a sitting President are not only reckless, but unlawful. The incarceration of individuals engaged in civil protests, because they oppose legislative tyranny and authoritarian rule, is not only unconstitutional, but it is equally and perhaps surpassingly immoral. A foundation of a democratic nation must be freedom, but freedom cannot be viewed through the lens of bias, lest we drift into the abyss of political indoctrination, unaware.
One of the most powerful demonstrations of our freedom in this country is our ability to vote. We can vote to elect representation that will voice our concerns, work on our behalf, fight for our way of life, and the ability to have access to the promise of this nation. We can vote! Our cast ballots represent our opinions, passions, sensibilities, and even our humanity. We have the right to vote! However, we must pay careful attention to what is happening in the state of Texas. Even the less-curious observer can trace patterns of legislative terrorism in the southern region of our country and quickly discover that when it appears in one state, it swiftly makes its way to the neighboring states. In Texas, at the behest of its governor and with the support of the federal administration, there is an attempt to gerrymander the political map to favor republican candidates in the upcoming midterm elections.
Gerrymandering was initially done by Massachusetts governor Elbridge Gerry of the Democratic-Republican party, which was dissolved in 1825. Governor Gerry believed in liberty and inalienable rights; such was our claim to do. This was the reason for the redrawing of political districts in its inception: to ensure freedom and equality. However, today, we see a different purpose. When a political party sees its inevitable defeat, rather than attempting to make a compelling case that would provide voters with something to consider when entering the voting booth, this current administration chooses to change the rules if you can’t win the game. While democratic members of the Texas legislature have left the state to prevent a constitutional insult and injury to Texas voters, the sitting President has agreed with and is in support of Sen. John Cornyn, who has petitioned the FBI to get involved and attempt to locate these elected officials and bring them back to Texas to force a vote. While taxpayers are paying the salaries of federal employees such as the FBI, there are those who want them to abandon their duties concerning national security, cybercrimes, white collar crime, domestic and foreign terrorism, and counterintelligence to pursue political gain, denying voters the right to speak with their respective votes. To speak and vote according to political pressure and culture commandeering is a current evil that we face.
Friends, those are the facts, but we have the faith. We have faith in a God who is on the side of the oppressed and the marginalized. We have faith in a God who cares about the stranger, the orphan, and the widow. We have faith in a God who cares about the disinherited, the disheartened, and the displaced. It is with this faith that we will not be silent, but we will voice our opinions, vote our convictions, because we value our freedom. We believe that even in these times, the ultimate victory will belong to democracy, knowing that what we have fought for is still worth fighting for!