A More Perfect Union: What We the People Can Do to Reclaim Our Constitutional Liberties Read Online Free PDF

researching politicians, so be it. If it means remembering to vote in local elections, do what it takes to remind yourself. If it means going to the nursing home and getting your bedridden grandmother registered to vote by absentee ballot, so be it. If you need to help her fill it out, help her fill it out. If we are lazy, fearful, or uncaring, all that so many have fought for will be lost, and our children and grandchildren will suffer the consequences.

EXERCISING POWER BY SPEAKING UP
    Finally, we the people exercise power by speaking our minds. Many of the early patriots in our nation had experienced tyranny that prevented them from expressing their opinions. They could not speak against the king or against the established church. They knew that America’s citizens would need to be free to express themselves if they were to rule. Thus they set in place the Constitution’s First Amendment, guaranteeing the freedom of speech and expression.
    We’ve preserved this freedom so that our government doesn’t usually try to prevent the people from speaking. Recognizing this achievement, many assert that there is no restriction of speech in the United States and that everyone is completely free to express themselves. Unfortunately, this is a naive claim. Today the political correctness (PC) police are the biggest threat to America’s freedom of speech, and they are doing their best to squelch the opinions of “we the People.”
    There is not an officially established PC police force, but its members exist in government, throughout the media, in educational institutions, etc. Members of the PC police are thosewho carefully monitor the speech and behavior of anyone they consider to be a threat to their leftist ideological domination. The PC police do not care that people disagree with them, as long as those people remain silent. But if someone openly disagrees with them, they demonize that person with ridicule and infantile name-calling. This kind of speech policing has created fear in a large portion of our populace, causing them to remain silent rather than face the repercussions of expressing themselves honestly.
    When people become reluctant to express themselves because they may be persecuted or ostracized, they almost might as well be living under a tyrannical government. This repression can be stopped only if large portions of the American population are committed to speaking out against attempts to shut down freedom of expression. For instance, when we hear about a local school trying to take the words “under God” out of the Pledge of Allegiance, we should personally get involved in voicing our opposition to such censorship.
    Recently, teachers in Lincoln, Nebraska, were told not to refer to pupils as “boys” or “girls” because it is bad to teach students gender disparity. 2 I believe this is taking political correctness to another level of absurdity, and I have loudly voiced my opposition to such foolishness. The vast majority of Americans understand that there is a difference between male and female—and long live the difference, which adds to the spice of life. It is eminently possible to recognize that there is a difference between boys and girls without introducing sexism or any other type of unfairness. It is much better to deal with these issues logically and with respect for tradition than through the emotional lens of the politicallycorrect ideology of the moment. Introducing a speech code or stifling traditionalists—or failing to speak up when others do—is not the way to go.
    Whatever the dangers, remaining silent is a huge mistake on the part of those desirous of freedom. Ayn Rand put it this way: “Do not keep silent when your own ideas and values are being attacked. . . . If a dictatorship ever comes to this country, it will be by the default of those who keep silent. We are still free enough to speak. Do we have time? No one can tell.” 3 If we allow ourselves to be cowed by the PC