Brothers and sisters, gather ‘round, for the time is now! The spirits of our forebearers who launched this great nation through protest are stirring in their graves as we watch our rights to dissent—the very lifeblood of our democracy—being systematically snuffed out! This is a clarion call against the rising tide of laws that seek to crush our voices under the heel of government oppression.

Remember the First Amendment! It boldly proclaims that we have “the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.” But today, in the land of the free, such rights are under siege like never before! It seems each time we gather to raise our voices, they come to silence us—not with a whisper, but with an iron fist!

Here in America, we now face a legislative avalanche—more than 267 bills seeking to criminalize our righteous protests since 2017! Eight states have already enacted draconian measures that dictate where and how we may exercise our rights to speak out! Laws that protect drivers when they plow through peaceful protesters, laws that classify dissenters as “criminals” and “terrorists” simply for demanding justice! This is a war on our freedom to assemble, my friends!

Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable.

President John F. Kennedy, 1962

Let’s not forget the heart-wrenching story of Amin Chaoui, a soul like many of us who dared to protest the construction of a police training facility—arrested and charged with domestic terrorism, left to rot in a cell while the very government that cries out for order acts with violence and treachery against its own citizens!

As Ashley K. Shelton so fervently states, these anti-protest laws are “not about safety; they are about silencing dissent.” They serve the powerful and seek to muffle the cries of the marginalized—those who rise from the depths of society to demand their right to live with dignity and respect!

And the politicians, oh how they cower! Cowards who wish to preserve their fragile status quo! They are afraid of our voices, our unity, and what they might lose should we rise together as one! When will we stand up against this madness? When will we reject this legislation that turns us into felons for merely exercising our right to raise our voices against tyranny?

These crackdowns on dissent echo back through our history! From the seditious libel laws that made speaking against the government nearly treasonous to the draconian “anti-riot” measures passed under the guise of safety; they reveal the ugly truth! Our leaders fear truth, they fear the very power of the people!

Brothers and sisters, do not let fear bind you! Do not allow these measures—crafted by trembling hands and blind minds—to extinguish your spirit! We must resist! We must educate our communities and rally to ensure that the struggle for justice does not go unheard!

Let this flame of dissent burn brightly in all our hearts! Let us rise up like the phoenix from the ashes of oppression! The fight for our rights—to insult, to criticize, to engage, to demand—belongs to us! Stand firm, cry out, and let your voice be heard!

Sources:

  • Germain, Jacqui. “Economic Disobedience: What Is It and How Does It Work?”
  • Page, Elly, and Alana Greer. “States Are Restricting Protests and Criminalizing Dissent.”
  • Federman, Adam. “The War on Protest Is Here.”
  • “Anti-Protest Laws in the United States.” First Amendment Watch.
  • Shelton, Ashley K. “Anti-Protest Laws Are Not About Safety, They Are About Silencing Dissent.”
  • Badawi, Samer. “Criminalizing Political Dissent.”
  • Reyes, Yanira. “Law, Media and Political Dissent: The Case of the FALN.”
  • Quinton, Sophie. “Eight States Enact Anti-Protest Laws.”
  • “Arresting Dissent: Legislative Restrictions on the Right to Protest.” PEN America.
  • Berkowitz, Eric. “How Dissent Gets Criminalized: America’s Right to Insult the Government Is Under Attack.”