Three Freedoms

            Celebrations on the 4^th of July bring back memories, one of them from half a lifetime ago when I was asked to give the commencement address at my local school district’s graduation ceremony. I took advantage of this special honor to deliver a simple message to the graduates: cherish and protect the freedom this great nation has given you. At the same time, I cautioned the students to protect freedom from abuse. I think if I were to give a commencement address today, I might repeat the same message, because I see our Constitutional freedoms under assault today in ways I could not have imagined 40 years ago.

            Freedom of religion is under attack by secularists who mock people of faith whose lives are guided by their belief in a Supreme Being rather than by “enlightened” principles embraced by the favored elite. Ironically, many of these same secularists scream Islamophobia at those who oppose the extreme ideology of radical Muslims.

            Freedom of the press is eroding from within at the hands of those who use its protection to report and opine dishonestly to advance a biased agenda. This is not new; the press has been used for political propaganda since the founding of our republic. Today’s abuse of this freedom, however, is much worse. The irresponsible and cowardly use of unnamed sources and leaks, and the repetition of known falsehoods by a press almost uniformly dedicated to the removal of a sitting president it despises, is far more corrosive of this freedom.

            Freedom of speech is probably in greatest jeopardy. It is denied to Conservative speakers at campuses radicalized by Leftist professors and governed by administrators more concerned with offense to the sensitivities of their snowflakes than with the benefits of vigorous debate. Outside ivy-covered walls, “victimized” groups appropriate loaded words like sexist, racist, homophobe, and fascist to deny the very expression of contrary opinion.

            “These are the times that try men’s souls,” said the great patriot Thomas Paine of our fight for independence. If he were alive today, I’m sure he would recognize the growing threats to our precious freedoms and challenge us to fight those who would destroy them. As we celebrate this Independence Day, we should all think about what we are willing to fight for.