Everyone should pause for a moment during the current craziness and read the full text of the First Amendment again. The genius of our founding fathers is more evident in the full text of the First Amendment than in perhaps any other freedom enshrined in the Bill of Rights.
And as we approach the most important holiday of the year in America’s founding faith – Easter – let it sink in that nearly every state has now abolished every one of our rights encompassed in the First Amendment. We’re entering truly scary territory due to our backward response to an historic threat.
When most people refer to the First Amendment, they’re talking about freedom of speech or freedom of the press. But here’s the full text:
“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.”
Conservative Americans are now used to Congress yawning about censorship in the public space by Big Tech. Likewise, our elected Representatives and Senators ignore the responsibility of the press that comes along with freedom of the press: That media outlets must strive to tell the truth, and that press freedoms were never meant to act as a shield for slanderous, lying, partisan organizations like CNN, MSNBC or the New York Times.
But the two bold sections above in the First Amendment are uncharted territory. Without blinking an eye, 41 states abolished the free exercise of religion (except for in mosques, of course) and the right of the people to peaceably assemble. Church services have been declared “nonessential” in many states. A pastor in Florida was arrested for defying his states’ order and continuing to hold services during the shutdown.
Meanwhile, police are arresting gatherings of people for children’s birthday parties and other social gatherings. Mayor Brant Walker of Alton, Illinois sent the cops to break up a party with ten people in attendance; the cops called Walker to tell him his wife was there. (Being a good liberal, he told the cops to throw her in jail.)
As a reminder, the last time that people were prohibited from gathering peacefully for any activity, it was the king of England who made up the rule.
Is church really “nonessential” in America? After 20 million people were thrown out of work due to our insane virus shutdowns, a suicide hotline in one state went from 1,000 phone calls every day to nearly 25,000. Suicides, mental health issues, domestic abuse and other plagues triggered by the shutdowns and isolation are turning out to be far more deadly for the health of our republic than any virus could be. One-third of apartment renters in America failed to pay rent on the first of April. How large will that number be on the first of May?
Meanwhile, church attendance offers a chance for socializing with others, hope, encouragement – maybe even a job offer if an out-of-work person happens to encounter a Christian boss with a job opening. Some people are fine with watching a church service over the internet, but for others, the benefits of church attendance are sorely needed right now.
More importantly, Christians are commanded to have fellowship with one another as a part of their worship services. Even if they have to sit six feet apart for social distancing, how is that any more dangerous than waiting in line to get into Costco with 700 strangers?
Not everyone is taking these draconian measures by cowering inside their homes because the government said so. Patriotic American Ammon Bundy is trying to organize a 1,000-person church service in Idaho on Easter Sunday. They’re going to peaceably assemble for the free exercise of religion.
Rep. Tim Worthington, a pastor and State Representative in Idaho, says, “Either the church is essential or it’s nonessential. For anybody to say that the church is ‘nonessential,’ is a deadly statement. Because it’s amazing what the church does do.”
He’s absolutely right. For the first time in history, governments have decided to quarantine the healthy in order to protect the public good. That’s insane, and the resulting misery is already killing Americans. How much civil disobedience are we going to see on Easter Sunday, if enough of us rowdy Christians decide that some things are more important than earthly government mandates?
