Top 10
David Letterman, who was only surpassed by Johnny Carson as the greatest late night host ever, was famous for his nightly Top 10 lists. I’d watch them late at night, well past my bedtime, only staying up long enough to see the opening monologue and the Top 10. They were hilarious.
The Bill of Rights, only surpassed by the Ten Commandments, are the original Top 10 list. Unfortunately, they have also become hilarious. They have become as much of a joke in America as one of Letterman’s masterpieces. You know why? Because we, as the citizens of the United States of America, are allowing and encouraging the attacks on our rights.
Our government, not exclusive to a specific administration, is consistently attacking our own individual rights. And it is our fault. The US Government works FOR US, NOT the other way around. We are passively allowing and even actively encouraging the degradation of the Bill of Rights by our own Government. They are using phrases like “national security”, “inclusivity”, and “personal safety” to scare you into voluntarily giving up your rights or allowing them to take away the rights of others.
Freedom of Speech is being attacked by using terms like “hate speech” when they disagree with the opposing view. Freedom of Religion is being attacked when they close places of worship and still allow people to shop at WalMart. Freedom of the Press is being attacked when mass media is being actively manipulated. The Right to a Speedy Trial is being attacked when accused individuals sit in jail for years waiting trial. The Right to Bear Arms is being attacked when government agencies make unilateral decisions about personal firearms without due process.
The Bill of Rights may be a Top 10 list, but the ways in which it is being attacked is too long to count. Why do we allow this? Frankly, we love to protect the rights that are important to us and don’t really care much about the ones that aren’t…until they are. Read that again.
No matter what side of the aisle you support, I am pretty sure if your immediate family had been sitting in jail for over a year WAITING for their trial, you’d be pissed. I am also sure that if you found out the government was listening in on your phone conversations based on pure speculation, you’d be pretty upset. Or if they said you can’t drive your car anymore but your neighbor could drive theirs, you’d have some concerns about government overreach. Your neighbor probably wouldn’t care because they still get to drive their car. No one took their rights away.
But they should care. When there is an attack on any one of the Bill of Rights, everyone should care. We should ALL be putting our government in check. We should all tell them we want answers. We should ALL be concerned. Why? Because it may not be your rights they come after this time, but it might be next time. Then what? If you shrug your shoulders when they violate your neighbor’s rights, why would he give a shit when they come after yours?
We ALL need to be invested in protecting the entire Bill of Rights, not just the ones that impact us or the ones we agree with. You never know when that Top 10 is going to become a Top 9 and it is YOUR favorite on the list that gets taken away.