As one who holds liberal views, should I worry that I may be arrested for expressing views that conservatives feel are not protected under the 1st amendment to our Constitution? as we have all recently witnessed , this became a reality after CBS fired Stephen Colbert and ABC just recently fired Jimmy Kimmel, both as a result of underlying threats from Trump and crony at the FCC. (1)
President Trump and his VP recently gave the green light for “right-wing extremists [to declare] open season on liberals and the left.” (2) This has been an ongoing effort by Trump’s authoritarian edicts since his 2nd inauguration. This includes many state and local governments, with Texas often in the forefront of violating the 1st amendment rights of millions who vote Democratic. Liberal-leaning groups like MOVEON.org and the national INDIVISABLE organizations could be targeted for this assault.
It’s been a pattern of conservative commentators to suggest “that liberalism is tied to higher education because learning more about how the world works leads to a better understanding of political policy.” (3) That’s probably true but not in all cases, though I confess, it was for me. Liberals started finding their voices during the Vietnam era days where university campuses rallied students and staff to advocate for changes in foreign and domestic policies and the excesses of Presidential executive power.
Here in my hometown of Denton, Texas, DISD Education Commissioner Mike Morath “warned last week that educators who “posted and/or shared reprehensible and inappropriate content on social media” regarding the killing of conservative Charlie Kirk, “could face suspension or revocation of their teaching certificates.” Though nothing has shown that these comments are “inappropriate”, it would likely be no different from the “hateful speech” of conservatives who viscerally call women who seek an abortion for an unwanted pregnancy, “BABY KILLERS”
and accuse “liberal leftist” of hating God and “his word”, with their support to keep church and state separated and out of our public schools.
This follows on the heels of Gov. Abbot’s support for House Bill 4211 that masks the attempt to limit religious dwellings that are not Christian. The goal of this bill Abbot said was “to prevent ‘bad actors’ from using religious freedom to impose “segregation,” as he singled out an Islamic mosque in McKinney. (3)
Those alleged hateful words liberals are saying about Charlie Kirk are not ignoring that his violent death by an assassin, being the extreme version off quashing one’s free speech. But it is, none-the-less, speech that even CK himself said (4) was protected under the Constitution.
Alexis de Tocqueville, a French diplomat, political philosopher and historian, was in awe of Americans playing out their 1st amendment rights as he toured the relatively new nation in 1831, highlighting their “unlimited freedom to associate for political goals that prevents tyranny of the majority.”(5) But it was the sentiment that was erroneously credited to Voltaire, a French writer and philosopher during the 18th century Enlightenment movement, who said “‘I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it”. (6)
Hate speech does not kill, maim or destroy property. It’s the actions taken by people, like 22-year old Tyler Robinson, who read such words that now threaten a liberal’s right to exercise his or her 1st amendment right. (7) These are the actions of an autocratic state of mind that will eventually destroy our constitutional republic and leave our children and grand children oppressed by the will of a single narcissistic demagogue.
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(1) https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2025/09/19/trumps-media-enforcer-is-relishing-his-jimmy-kimmel-moment/
(2) https://dentonrc.com/education/higher_education/university_of_north_texas/unt-system-will-keep-faculty-senates-with-tweaks-to-comply-with-new-state-law-limiting/article_fefba570-299c-4ec5-a9f1-4d3f3d8ebb0f.html#tncms-source=login
(3) https://www.snopes.com/news/2025/04/13/higher-education-leads-to-liberalism/
(4) https://www.fastcompany.com/91403774/charlie-kirk-believed-in-free-speech-his-fans-are-getting-people-fired-for-exercising-theirs
(5) https://firstamendment.mtsu.edu/article/alexis-de-tocqueville/
(6) https://checkyourfact.com/2019/09/17/fact-check-voltaire-disapprove-defend-death-right-freedom-speech/
(7) https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2025/09/19/charlie-kirk-death-free-speech/
