Free speech memories intertwined with college days, modern censorship and a modest proposal for conversation rules of engagement to promote civility and peace with one another and UAPs / UFOs.
Montage Pic: Public Domain / Free Clip Art
First Amendment to the U.S. 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.”
I recently had a flashback about these cherished freedoms to when I was a freshman at LSU back in 1977 and a roommate with my best friend Scott Vincent.
Here we were transplants from Uptown New Orleans … both the Most Holy Name of Jesus Grammar School grads, but Scott went to Jesuit and I to De La Salle!
Once, when we were walking towards the LSU Union, we saw someone standing at the top of the steps and heard him speaking loud about some issue near and dear to his heart.
Yes, there were jeers and cheers echoing off and on from the onlookers – and even from both Scott and me, since “DLS Cavaliers” & “Jesuit Blue Jays” had differences of opinion at times.
But Scott and me found a way to still respectfully listen without violence - just like those others in attendance at that LSU Union gathering.
Just at that moment, I happened to spy an eagle flying overhead – what a thrill that was as it reminded me then of the origins for our great country and that cherished 1st Amendment to the Constitution!
This “Free Speech Alley,” as we found out it was called, provided a great forum for diversity of thoughts to be shared with respectful tolerance – however heated it may have gotten at times and without any violence.
Fast Forward to the here and now … with social media platforms and spectrums galore that were not even imagined to be able to be available to us back in 1977 ... some of which even seem to promote censorship, which is diametrically opposed to the 1st Amendment!
Why are some folks uncomfortable listening to those who have a difference of opinion ... that's how we all learn and grow, right?
As I had shared in the past, here again is my modest and simple proposal for all of us to find more ways to be civil and respectful in our communications and discourses that is sorely needed nowadays:
“Conversation Rules of Engagement” recommended for us and as we prepare for more engagements with one another and UAPs (Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena) / UFOs:
1. No hidden agenda.
2. No goal to change the other being's / person’s opinion.
3. A chance to listen and to learn from each other.
KJPH - PRAYER CARE, LLC
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