It is very easy for us to feel intimidated about speaking out on the issues that we think matter. What if someone disagrees? What if someone makes me look stupid? What if someone is offended, heaven forbid? We tend to look for reason not to speak up rather than finding reasons not to stay silent. What better reason to speak up than to defend the right to be able to speak up?
Our liberties are being squelched, marginalized, tampered with and ultimately removed at a staggering pace. In the form of over-reaching regulations like some of our hate speech laws. In the form of bullying by telling us how offensive everything we say is. In the form of attacking the source of news rather than the content of the news. Ultimately, in the tyrannical form of absolutely silencing those who would speak out. Reputations are sullied and careers are ruined over this. Students are expelled, reporters are fired and networks are censored.
Some people, however, see the problem, understand the objective and fear the results. These people come from all walks of life. They are you and I. They are people who feel helpless because of there perceived stature on the social ladder. They are people feel empowered by that very same stature. There are reporters, journalists, law officers, business owners and lawmakers who are speaking out in defense of the constitution every day. If they don't, they are not being responsible with the liberties they have. We have a responsibility to use our freedom of speech. We have the duty to protect our freedom of speech. If we don't, we will lose it.
I attended the Day of Resistance rally in Sacramento in February. There were 700+ liberty loving, law abiding patriots there who came to exercise the basic right to assemble and speak up about the problems they see in our country. There were several speakers who stood behind the microphone and let their voices be heard on the issues. These people were mothers, veterans, media, business owners and aspiring political leaders. They spoke passionately about what they believed. They spoke with determination to make a difference. They spoke because it was important to be heard. They spoke because they were exercising their God given rights to do so. We need to speak because there are those who desire to supersede God and take away those unalienable right granted to us by our Creator, guaranteed in our constitution!
There were 1400+ rallies just like this, most of them larger, that took place around the country that day. Conservative estimates place the number of attendees around 1 million. That's 1 million people who felt moved enough to get up on a Saturday morning and drive somewhere to stand around in the cold, rain, wind and in my case, glorious sunshine to exercise our liberties. That is encouraging. However, that puts the amount who were not there, in most cases by choice, at around 300 million. That is very discouraging. They sat in the relative safety of their homes instead of fighting for the liberties that they are losing, most without even knowing or caring. Benjamin Franklin said "[t]hose who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety." Benjamin Franklin was a smart man.
There are numerous examples of those who have entered into this fight in a much more risky manner than I have. I will gives some examples in an upcoming blog entry of some people that are risking careers and much more by speaking out. I thank God for them. I thank God that they have the desire to fight for what is important, not just to them, but for all of us, for the future of our country. If you are not a person of action for whatever reason, there are still important things you can do. If you are a person of faith, pray. Pray for those who are standing behind microphones. Pray for those who stand in opposition to our liberties. Pray for those who may be led to do something more. You can also show your support by visiting Facebook pages and clicking "like". Follow them on Twitter. Hit that "contact me" button on blogs and web pages and say thanks.
You and I have a responsibility to our liberty. Freedom is never free. We owe a great deal to those who have come before us and fought and died for our liberty. They can't speak anymore. Their actions spoke loud and clear where they stood on the issue of freedom. You have a responsibility. Be loud. Be clear. Be free!
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