Among the many freedoms guaranteed by the First Amendment to the Constitution, there is one freedom that is conspicuously absent. Nothing therein guarantees your freedom to not be annoyed, shocked, scared shitless or offended by what someone else says.
Opinion
Pluralism, as we Americans enjoy, almost guarantees that someone WILL be offended by something that someone else says. I’m here to testify that is a good thing. It guarantees that we will not become a nation of frightened intellectual pantywaists.
Censorship in favor of anyone’s tender feelings indicates a lack of faith in our freedom of speech, our collective mental resiliency and in our basic American liberty. I wish the Wyoming Republican Party would realize that.
A hadith is a fundamental precept of the Islamic faith, but one that does not necessarily issue from the Quran. A hadith is a sort of apocryphal truism that has found its way into the Muslim canon by repetition. An example would be the Islamic law that nobody can make an image or draw a picture of the Prophet. Such an act is considered offensive to the faith, and can and has resulted in the artist’s death.
When the Wyoming Republican Party recently passed a resolution to investigate, condemn and punish people who cheered or spoke inappropriately when Charlie Kirk was killed, they created a new hadith that is blasphemous to our constitutional canon. And they demonstrated publicly how little they believe in our First Amendment freedoms.
Apparently, the nasty rhetoric spouted by Kirk’s opponents after he was killed shocked and appalled the Wyoming GOP, and they determined that they had to put a stop to it. But they forgot that the First Amendment to our Constitution contains no penalty for shocking or appalling speech. Nor does it place conditions on speech or mention consequences for speaking freely. It just says that, in our country, speech is free.
In passing the aforementioned resolution, the Wyoming GOP also ignored the “Timeless Truth” in Plank 22 of its own platform, which states, “Freedom of speech includes the freedom of the individual to express his or her beliefs, ideas and opinions without fear of retaliation, censorship or legal sanction by government.”
The Wyoming GOP’s resolution says that those who celebrate and condone political murder, such as the murder of Charlie Kirk, should be investigated and punished. Yet, just a few days ago, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman was in the Oval Office with President Donald Trump. This is the same Saudi crown prince who ordered the murder and dismemberment of Jamal Khashoggi, a Washington Post reporter whom the Saudi royal considered an enemy.
When a reporter at the meeting asked Trump about the murder, he shrugged and said, “Things happen.”
Will the Wyoming GOP investigate and punish Trump for condoning political murder? Don’t hold your breath.
For a once-proud political organization like the Wyoming Republican Party to dishonor itself by passing a resolution that is clearly contrary to our Constitution, as well as to its own platform, causes us to ask why such forked-tongued hypocrisy occurred. I have a couple of thoughts.
I smell the influence of the Freedom Caucus on this one. This looks like a continuation of their Sharia-esque power grab in the Cowboy State, and their my-way-or-the-highway attitude toward anyone who doesn’t buy into their bullshit.
This resolution also suggests that power has gone to the Wyoming GOP’s head, and their hubris is showing. For a political party to try to supplant the Constitution through its own internal pronouncements appears just a tad bit despotic.
The First Amendment says what it says, and means what it means, and there’s not a thing the Wyoming GOP can do about that, no matter how many hadiths they write to the contrary.
They’ll probably consider this column some sort of unpatriotic hate speech directed toward a tender spot in their insecure self-identity, and call for me and anyone else who points out their hypocrisy to be investigated and punished. Screw ‘em!
Guidelines on how to mourn bigoted, racist, misogynists will be included in chrumps version of Obama care.
A light in the darkness. Thank you.
Dear Mr. Miller,
Last time I checked Wyoming follows the at-will employment doctrine, meaning employers can terminate employees for any reason or no reason at all, as long as it does not violate specific legal protections. This gives businesses flexibility in managing their workforce. Therefore, people who speak inappropriately about celebrating assassination or murder of a fellow American in my opinion should not be teaching our children. Freedom of expression does not ‘protect’ someone of the consequences of bad behavior, just keeps you out of government jails – unless of course you are threatening the lives of others, then it is appropriate for the government to probably hold on to you for evaluation of a safety hazard to others. I overheard some who celebrated Mr. Kirk’s assassination say that anyone who agreed with him deserved the same ‘fate.’ Statements that are highly inappropriate for our educators to make. Mr. Kirk was never hateful in his defense of his beliefs – excellent debater and always had the backup for his statements.
The First Amendment is a specific legal protection.
To the Freedom Caucus free speech doesn’t exist except when they say it can Freedom Caucus my hinnie.
On and on and on the narrative is the same: the GOP is taking us back decades. Both statewide and nationally. We need to take action to educate our GOP neighbors about the injustices that continually occur. I would like to suggest a bullet list of 5-10 subjects that you know well. When the conversation drifts towards one of these topics, you are armed and loaded with the facts to educate and civilly debate. Mark, great job at bringing this to our attention. It’s just one more thing our Faux News friends will be blind to.
It’s incredibly heart warming to know that there are still good people in Wyoming who don’t stand for hate. I’m so proud to call Wyoming my home state. Keep fighting the good fight, Rod. Fight loud and hard.
Nolite te bastardes carborundum.
Thank goodness there are some people here in Wyoming who haven’t drank the koolaid. The fact that they seem to believe it’s Ok for them to say what they want but I can’t is terrifying. This isn’t the first constitutional right they are messing with and I’m sure it won’t be the last. They just seem to have control issues. It has to be THEIR religion. We have to agree to all raise our kids the same way, same books (censored by a committee of their choosing), fly the same flag, look the same, have the same color skin, have no real political awareness but just tow the line they drew for you. Their bizarre belief that people with lots of money must be smarter and will elect them and allow them to create laws making them richer, while making us poorer. The clown show we have now is so humiliating to me. So thanks. Nice to know some people actually studied in school and understood what freedom actually means.
Thank you for your opinion, Mr. Miller. With people like you in Wyoming, there still is hope that we might save our state and our country.
Very well put. Freedom of speech covers everything, everything except yelling “fire” when there is none in a crowded theater.
It must apply to all and unfortunately sometimes we must allow, nay support, free speech from what might be considered hate or negativity. Examples: we have yet to ban the swastika or stars and bars across this country.
I agree with Rob. Hypocritic legislators with tiny egos. Screw em.
I was appalled when “peaceful tourists” called for the hanging of a Vice President. I was apalled when the President “re-Truthed” a post calling for the hanging of veterans who made a video. We are all appalled these days. At the least, Kirk was a podcaster and not a Vice President or a Senator.
Always enjoyed your musings, Rod…and this is no exception. We’ll said!!!
Well said, Mr. Miller. The Wyoming GOP hasn’t just lost their way and their mind. They’ve lost their soul, and that’s worse.
Well said. yeah, the gop is all for free speech unless someone says something they don’t like.
BRAVO!!
It is really good to know, Rod Miller, that there are those like you and the commentators here, are willing to speak up so coherently and true, despite the crazies who are so desperately trying to suppress free speech.
I wish I could write as eloquently and as spot on. Cheers!
Yup.
Well written, and thank-you.
The Wyoming GOP is treading on dangerous territory.
Keep telling the truth. 😎
Ditto…what Mr. VonSeggern said. Really appreciate your stuff Rod.
Not sure I see a problem with those directly funded by our tax dollars and tasked with educating the next generation being held to a higher speech standard? I saw Defending Education recently found that the teachers union National Education Association has upcoming training on “Advancing LGBTQ+ Justice and Transgender Advocacy” for our teachers emphasizing the Left’s Race/Class/Gender narrative while claiming that opponents (i.e. conservatives) use “strategic racism” and transphobia to “harm us all”.
I have no idea where our Wyo Ed Association stands on this training. But is this really where we want to be for our K12 education? What happened to the 3-R’s? With countless thousands of teachers gleefully celebrating Charlie’s murder and then parading that mentality into the classrooms seems more than inappropriate. It’s also well beyond a simple ‘free speech’ issue having billions of our tax dollars directly tied to it.
Sure, those riddled with TDS can say as they want about Charlie’s murder as sick as it is. But there’s no reason to marinate our kids in all this confusion and hate.
Shouldn’t you be waiting for the next q drop?
Your defense of limiting free speech is ridiculous.
I find it interesting my comments questioning Mr. Miller on 1st Amendment hypocrisy do not make the comment section by the moderator, but Derek Steven’s comments are published, even though his violate your listed submission policies. Sure seems like there is an issue with with free speech, but only if you’re on the wrong side of WyoFile.
Patience is a virtue. Being a partisan conspiracy theorist isn’t a virtue. Get a grip
Chuck, “conspiracy theorist”???
Question for you directly…
Did Trump get shot in the ear?
Wyoming GOP is getting worse and worse. Lawless and ignorant of the Constitution and the First Amendment! They are just cult members and complicit to the demise of Democracy! All of The GOP is the Same!!
Just more distraction from the FC funders to keep us from focusing on important issues like the huge highway maintenance funding shortfall.
Keep speaking up for all of us, Rod. You do it beautifully.
My only comment is – what he said.
So, by your logic, it’s hypocritical for the Wyo GOP to condemn dissenting and cruel opinions about Charlie Kirk’s assassination as a threat to the 1st Amendment and free speech. But where were you on the DNC’s and the left’s position on censoring opinions regarding Covid – citing anything that did not fit the narratives (now thoroughly debunked) as “misinformation”? Maybe you spoke out then about 1st Amendment hypocrisy. Correct me if I’m wrong, but I don’t remember seeing anything…
Short memory may play tricks. Trump 45 was president during birth and explosion of Covid. He used his “free speech” to tell people to gargle with bleach and take other toxic substances that directly resulted in one couple’s death by following his misguided direction….yet he never faced any reprimand
You should perhaps do a little more research before you comment here, as your outlandish claims were debunked long ago – even by the leftist leaning Snopes. Try to look outside of the MSNBC box and think for yourself.
I was just about to ask the same thing. Seems like you all were just fine with squashing the narrative about Covid. Where was all the concern back then?
We are a nation of hypocrites. Those that decry Trumps misdeeds today fully supported the misdeeds of previous Admins if the Party letter was a D.
The Covid era was a perfect example of the Authoritarianism/Fascism that is denied by those that wielded the power in that moment and fully supported it.
If you guys pulled this covid denial crap on my 100lb. daughter, who’s a registered nurse, after struggling for months trying to save your lives in spite of yourselves, she’d probably kick your ass. (She’s small, but believe me, she could do it.) Covid is real and it was a killer. All of the lucky ones, and their families, that she helped pull through that awful ordeal thanked her and wished they had done things a lot differently and followed the government’s guidelines.
Obviously, you still believe it was some power grab by the democrats instead of a world wide pandemic that was actually killing millions. It would have killed Trump if he hadn’t been president at the time and was able to receive the best medical care on earth. After experiencing it first hand he got serious about how bad the problem was, after denying it for months, and sped the production of a highly effective vaccine before he was voted out of office the first time.
Call it “Authoritarianism/Fascism” if you want Chad but the democrats were governing responsibly by trying to keep people from spreading the disease to others by highly suggesting to the population that wearing a mask in public and getting vaccinated (if appropriate for them) was an effective way to end the pandemic. I never saw anyone with a gun to their head at any vaccination sites that I went to. In the end I think it came down to the people who truly care about their neighbors and the ones who don’t give a damn.
Thank you, Rod. Well said. I have always voted for the individuals I feel can do the best job for Wyoming and the USA, and never for a straight party ticket. This resolution makes me angry, but it doesn’t surprise me. Voters, please do your homework, understand what each candidate says he/she will do, and vote for the one you feel will do the best job. Verify facts, not just words.
Thank you for writing this and publishing, Rod. Well thought, well stated, and I agree!
Chump’s loyalty is to no one but himself, ala a mink in a chick hatchery. If these dumbshit Wyoming UnFreeDumb Cabal members think this orange tyrant has their backs, think again. God damn we the stupid asses have infiltrated the GOP which now stands for Guardians Of Pedophiles since they’re so infatuated with keeping Chump and his Cronies from being exposed in the Epstein files
What a sad example of a human.
Guess this commenter missed the WyoFile profanity requirement, or lack thereof. But hey, TDS is serious so maybe they decided to give you a free pass.
Mr. Miller: Your article made my Wyoming born blood run cold. So sad to think my home state representatives have even taken this past the concept stage into reality. I was born during one of the worst winters on record in Evanston and stayed there just until the storm broke and we were able to return to my parents night club and restaurant halfway between Evanston and Kemmerer. The Club Bon Rico still stands but is empty of everything but fond memories for me. Now my homestate does this terrible tribute to the Constitution. The Wyoming GOP is now all hat and no cattle. Gerry Spence is turning over in his grave as are many people who braved bitter cold, feast or famine hardships and a “don’t fence me in” sensibility about their hard fought freedoms of expression. RIP Wyoming-where thr concept of open range gave way to closed-minds. Thank you for your article.
I haven’t read the Wyoming state side of the story…assuming this is the case, I thought your article was spot on. George Orwell was way ahead of his time. Your courage is awesome.
As always- you have nailed it once again. Yes- “Screw Them”!!
So it was O.K. to call him a racist when he was alive but now it’s illegal. To whom does this make sense?
Thank you, Rod, for pointing out the hypocrisy of the Wyoming Republican party. As they say in liberal circles, “I stand with you!”
Despots rule by fear in both religion and politics. Our Constitutional First Amendment right to Freedom of Speech is now being perverted to promote lies and ignore the truth. “Propaganda” will always follow a pattern of fear mongering “propagated” through lies. Adolph Hitler and Joe McCarthy come prominently to mind from history. Unfortunately, your quote about the WFC: “This looks like a continuation of their Sharia-esque power grab in the Cowboy State” — conforms to the historic template all too well. Great write, m’friend. I admire your courage to keep promoting the truth.
I don’t know if the people of Wyoming are strong enough to vote the fake christians out of office. I would think that everyone would be sick of it by now, but it doesn’t seem to be the case. There’s nothing worse than a fake christian that bends the knee to DJT. Talk about sinners.
Once again, thank you. I only wish Freedom of Speech applied to biologists.
Well stated Mr Miller
Well stated indeed.
Thank you, thank you, thank you!
Truth to power, Rod/—truth to power
Fantastic article but as we know the WFC will wail and gnash teeth. To bad they don’t believe in freedom.
Thank you, Rod (again) for speaking truth to power.
Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family.