I’m not sure when it happened, but at some point the Greater Detroit region decided to suspend the First Amendment of the Constitution Of The United States. And I’m not quite sure what we can do about it.
As a refresher, here’s the text in question:
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.
Make careful note of every part of that, because it will be on the final.
Detroit is home to a sizable Muslim population — some American citizens, some not. And they appear to have managed to supplant American law with Muslim law.
Last year, a group of Christians went into Dearborn — a significant suburb of Detroit — and handed out evangelical leaflets. Yes, this is annoying. I get irritated with that sort of thing, too. I’ve even been rude to those types on occasion. I consider it rude of them to push their beliefs on me, so I push back.
But I don’t try to get them arrested. And even if I tried, I would fail.
Unless I was in Dearborn, where the mayor decided that it was so offensive to the Muslims in his community that it rose to the level of breaking the law.
To nearly all Christians, proselytizing and evangelizing — spreading the World Of Christ — is an essential part of their faith. And as annoying as those of us who don’t believe might find it, we have the right to argue, ignore, or walk away from them — but not the right to shut them down, as long as they don’t violate the law or others’ rights in the process.
But in Greater Detroit, the “rights” of the Muslim population to not be offended triumphed.
Recently, asshat/attention whore Pastor Terry Jones wanted to hold an event in Detroit, near one of the largest mosques. He applied for a permit, and it was denied. Not because officials feared he would break some law or in some way engage in violence, but because his mere peaceful presence would provoke violence against him. And just to go a bit further, he was arrested and charged with “inciting violence” — and convicted.
Let’s go back to the First Amendment — and the rights it guarantees all Americans. The standard summary of them, in plain English, are these:
- There shall be no state-sanctioned religion.
- All people are free to practice their own religions.
- All people are free to speak as they wish.
- All people are free to publish as they wish.
- All people are free to assemble peacefully.
- All people can seek to have their grievances addressed by the governmentl
Now, let’s see how that applies in Greater Detroit:
The Christians who were arrested for handing out pamphlets were denied their right to practice their religion and to speak.
Reverend Jones has been denied his right to practice his religion, to speak freely, and to peacably assemble.
There’s three of six. But there’s a fourth, and it’s not only the most subtle, but possibly the most dangerous.
All these actions were taken on behalf of a portion of the population of Greater Detroit, to whom these actions are utterly inimical to their religion and culture. All these actions are offensive to the Islam, and the city is using its power to cater to their demands.
In essence, Greater Detroit has declared Islam to be the official religion of the area, and will use its power to enforce the tenets of that faith against any who might wish to challenge that declaration and assert their First Amendment rights within what many call “Dearbornistan.”
This is utterly intolerable. This is totally unacceptable. The Constitution — including the Bill of Rights — is the highest law in the land. No portion of the nation can declare itself — even quietly and unofficially — to be exempt from the Constitution, and set up its own rules in defiance. We fought a war over that principle 150 years ago, and we should be ready and willing to do so again if need be.
