{"id":41067,"date":"2018-11-30T07:27:15","date_gmt":"2018-11-30T12:27:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/olduvai.ca\/?p=41067"},"modified":"2018-11-30T07:27:15","modified_gmt":"2018-11-30T12:27:15","slug":"yes-you-have-the-right-to-talk-back-to-the-government-but-it-could-get-you-killed","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/olduvai.ca\/?p=41067","title":{"rendered":"Yes, You Have the Right to Talk Back to the Government, But It Could Get You Killed"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Yes, You Have the Right to Talk Back to the Government, But It Could Get You Killed<\/a><\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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\u201cThe freedom of individuals verbally to oppose or challenge police action without thereby risking arrest is one of the principal characteristics by which we distinguish a free nation from a police state.<\/a>\u201d\u2014 Justice William J. Brennan,\u00a0City of Houston v. Hill<\/em><\/p>\n

What the architects of the police state want are submissive, compliant, cooperative, obedient, meek citizens who don\u2019t talk back, don\u2019t challenge government authority, don\u2019t speak out against government misconduct, and don\u2019t step out of line.<\/p>\n

What the First Amendment protects\u2014and a healthy constitutional republic requires\u2014are citizens who routinely exercise their right to speak truth to power.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s not an easy undertaking.<\/p>\n

Weaponized by police, prosecutors, courts and legislatures, \u201cdisorderly conduct\u201d charges have become a convenient means by which to punish those individuals who refuse to be muzzled.<\/p>\n