The Mississippi Freedom Caucus has submitted a resolution to the Mississippi Legislature to make Mississippi a "Bill of Rights Sanctuary State." I've provided the link below so that you can read about the resolution and where the idea originated. I'm intrigued by the idea because of recent actions and the need for states to make clear where the federal governments over-reaching and impinging on these issues must stop. Of course, it seems the real culprits at infringing upon or downright violating the significance of the Bill of Rights is coming from the private sector from Big Business and Big Tech. For those typically on the right of center, the idea of forcing private businesses to welcome all voices and consumers may seem hypocritical given those on the right usually being in support of freedom of association for private actors. However, what do you do when private companies and businesses have become so large that their actions against conservative or right of center voices, basically silences those voices from the public square? Sure, in times past those feeling marginalized by one group would just start their own venture in getting their thoughts and opinions out to the market place, but what do you do when your not even allowed access to the market place? These concerns are becoming more and more relevant because this is becoming the reality for more and more right of center and conservative voices. That's why I think something like what the Mississippi Freedom Caucus is doing might be something more states should consider if they want to protect their states and citizens from the growing infringements these companies are pushing.
The question(s) needed to be asked, however, is who or what is giving these industries the notion that cancelling or quieting voices is right? That's not how this American experiment is supposed to play out. From the beginning it was a belief in the classical liberal notions of free speech, freedom of religion, freedom of assembly, and so on that drove our Founders to create the Bill of Rights in the first place. Sure, a constitution was important, but as equally important was a document that made sure the government knew what its limits were not what limits it could put on its citizenry. And while some may say this is why these businesses have every right to quell whatever voices they want, someone needs to ask "Was this what the Founders had in mind?" Now, that may to originalist for some, or even get to the heart of authorial intent too much for others, but that is exactly what needs to be asked right now. What if the government is not having to reign in the rights of its citizens because private business is doing it for them? Of course, in many ways the government is reigning in speech and other rights state by state during this pandemic by ignoring voices and information from one side of the aisle that it does not want their citizens to hear concerning Covid, its prevention, and its management. So it should not come as too much of a shock that these same party members now in control of two branches of the federal government would like to squelch dissenting voices through presidential order and legislative censures. Is this who we are? Is this what the USA has become? A place where those who disagree can no longer have their voices heard and their opinions expressed? Have we become a place that no longer thinks its citizens can hear differing opinions from particular sets of facts and form their own thoughts based upon the provided information? Can people not see that the reason why some have turned to conspiracy theories is not because of the freedom of opinions but because of the limiting of facts and voices to the discussion?
It is time to stop the gaslighting (telling people that what they saw is not in fact what actually happened) and the marginalizing of any voice. Believe it or not, the Right does not believe that this should be the practice of Americans, nor its institutions, at least they certainly should not believe it. The Right should not have its own version cancel culture or method of getting rid of voices that do not go along with the party line. No, we leave that behavior to the Left because they know they are in the position of weakness. It is not those in the right who have to quiet dissenting voices, it is those who know their ideas and principles are lacking and insufficient. The Left loves cancel culture and encourages Social Media to stop the voice of opposition because their arguments against those voices are not based on science or fact, but instead are simply based on "feelings" and a desire to control the narrative. This should come as little to no surprise because that's what's been happening ALL YEAR LONG. From people being told that rioting and looting were "mostly peaceful protest" TO any opinion on Covid that did not align with their messaging being de-platformed TO the Hunter Biden story being immediately labeled disinformation for fear it may negatively impact the Biden campaign TO no willingness to even examine the potential for voter anomalies and irregular voting patterns in the last election. And we could go on and on... all of these actions have one thing in common. They been done for the expressed purpose of silencing voices from the Right so that they cannot interfere with the narrative and opinions coming from the Left. And truth be told this is what the new Left has become over the last decades.
Once, the Left was committed to the Voltaire's idea of "I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it." And it was the Right that had to constantly defends it seeming desire to silence those who objected to this notion, but something changed. Perhaps it was the hatred the each side grew to have for the other, or the very real concern in their mind from the Left that the Right was trying to force a morality or view that they found too oppressive, but somewhere along the way the Left started to forcibly quiet the Right. From college campuses to local restaurants, if you were on the Right you no longer had the right to be heard or listened to or even allowed to simply peacefully enjoy a meal without being shouted down or protested against. And this was seen and celebrated by those on the Left as some sort of new normalcy! Plus with the rise of the Black Lives Matter and Antifa (one of the most ironic names ever) organizations promoting violence and the disintegration of western society, it suddenly became "en vogue" for Leftist actors use any means necessary to stop whomever they believed to be the enemy. A cultic type mindset has now taken over, where any nonbelievers must be excommunicated from society because the threat they bring to the new orthodoxy must be stopped. So if you DO NOT believe boys can simply turn into girls overnight, or that female sports should be for whoever "feels" like a female, or that Covid is worth destroying the economy and stopping people from worshipping freely, or that masks will protect you from everything, or Joe Biden is just a nice man serving his country; then you must be silenced. You are the enemy of the state, a domestic terrorist. Now that is frightening!
How far are they willing to go? Time will only tell. Does this cause me to live in fear? NOPE! God is sovereign and He is still ruling and reigning from His throne. He will continue to accomplish His purposes for the good of His children and for the Glory of His name. Does this mean I should take all of this lying down? Not at all! God has providentially chosen for me to live in this country, therefore I should value and appreciate my citizenry here. I should not value it in the same way that I do my citizenship to my Heavenly City, but if my Earthly City needs protection and assistance then I should serve it joyfully to the Glory of God. Many of us believe that the reason this nation possesses any level of exceptionalism is because it has chosen in its founding to value those things that our Creator told us to value from the beginning. Some have chosen to focus on this nations shortcomings in always holding up those principles as a reason to attempt to overthrow it. I do not think that is the right mindset to have. All people have been created by God and in Him image. All people possess dignity, value, and worth and should be treated that way individually and under the law. That does not mean that every opinion is equally valid or should be equally valued, yet it should be heard. We must learn to respect each other for who we are, not for who others think we should be. If we do not start to live this way soon, American exceptionalism will not only be a thing of the past, so will America itself.
https://www.wlbt.com/2021/01/26/resolution-would-make-mississippi-bill-rights-sanctuary-state-heres-what-that-means/
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