ContentFrom the First Ammendment of the United States Constitution:
“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”
Can this, the founding principle of effective democracy, be reconciled with the actions of the Federal Communications Commision? The FCC is a government agency, reporting directly to Congress, that has the authority to regulate — and censor — the free speech of Americans. A constant fixture in the press recently for their actions against media icons, the FCC is likely overstepping it’s constitutional bounds in the name of “decency.” While certain acts step over the limit of good taste, the real crime is restrictions on the liberties essential in preserving freedom. Akin to the worrisome trend toward a society that seeks to dismiss the concept of privacy in the name of “security”, the oppression of our right to express ourselves publicly does not bode well for a free future.
An online petition has been set up at StopFCC.com to gather signatures in an attempt to inform our Congress that American citizens value their Consitutional rights over the subjective morality of a handful of bureaucrats.