Law and Freedom

Watching the Gallaudet Protest in the last few days, its escalation reminded me that someone who mentioned Kent State University in 1970.

http://dept.kent.edu/sociology/lewis/LEWIHEN.htm

What is certainly interesting is the message from the higher ups are essentially the same thing. Law will take care of those who are dissenters. That is akin to calling us traitors. How can we be traitors if we are following the principles set by our founders to ensure people's freedom to live as they know?

The US before it became the thirteen states, was founded on the principal of freedom from tyranny and the freedom to practice what one chooses to do - specifically in the 1690's, religious freedom. In the 1770's, the freedom to speak and assemble was surpressed by order of the British Monarchy, for the outlandish laws that were placed upon the shoulders of colonists, without consultation or at least understanding where the colonists are and where the British residents were. Boston Tea Party, Boston Massacre

This is a new time, new era, radically different from the 1690's and 1770's. Now we cannot be free to assemble, to worship, and to speak for what is wrong. The higher ups think that they can bypass the laws that were set up in the first place to PROTECT the people's rights. Something's wrong with the picture.

The First Amendement says "Congress shall make no law respecting and 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."

In the case of Kent State University and Gallaudet University; the higher ups are abridging the right of the students to protest peacefully, for something that they feel that either the federal government or the university administrators are doing wrong. It only takes one person to escalate a situation. As "Ohio Governor James Rhodes flew to Kent on Sunday morning, and his mood was anything but calm. At a press conference, he issued a provocative statement calling campus protestors the worst type of people in America and stating that every force of law would be used to deal with them." Excerpt from weblink to Kent State University. I suggest you read the KSU's document in entirety and do some research.

Now 36 years later - here we have is Gallaudet U.'s protesting on the same principle, but for different reasons. Their culture was at stake, no guidance, and no balance was struck to ensure equality in both camps. Yet the University adminsitrators made the decision to "arrest" students on basis for refusal to "listen" to the University administration. These kids are over 18 years of age and do not need parents to scold them, they have their own at home. They learned their history, did the higher ups forget theirs?

"Law and Order" shows conflict between people and laws in place. Some of the stories may be fictional, but for some it is reality.

One may consider me a traitor to my country, but I will not be a traitor to the human race nor the earth on which we live off.