Sisters Speaks Out on First Amendment
By Sue Stafford
Published Oct. 29, 2019 in the Nugget Newspaper
(Click on title above to read)
EXCERPTED FROM THE ARTICLE:
…(Moderator Chris) Van Dyke issued a call for civility in this age of “digital amplification,” where people’s speech can become aggressive and threatening, and yet censorship runs the risk of controlling and marginalizing certain people or groups. He believes our democracy is at stake if we can’t maintain civil discourse. He asked the audience to consider, “It’s not what you can say, rather what you should say.”
A four-member panel then individually discussed the tenets of the First Amendment from their particular perspectives — legal, journalistic, religious, and literary. …
… (Local retired attorney Pete Shepherd) provided a succinct and very understandable lesson in the application of the First Amendment in four different scenarios, which highlighted when speech is protected and when it can be regulated. …
… The importance of freedom of the press was outlined by Nugget Editor in Chief Jim Cornelius, who said that dissemination of information and holding governments accountable are the two most important jobs of a free press. …
… Lane Jacobson, owner of Paulina Springs Books, believes that free speech is “central to the ethos of our country.” …
… The heart of the issue for (Sisters Community Church pastor Steve Stratos) lies in the second paragraph of the Declaration of Independence: “We hold these Truths to be self-evident, that all Men are created equal, that they are endowed by the Creator with certain unalienable Rights…”
…How we define our words is of great importance, according to Stratos. What is freedom? How can we flourish if we can’t define what it means to flourish?
Cornelius shared the question he asks himself as he practices skepticism in evaluating the news or information coming his way.
“Who benefits by my believing this and sharing it with others?” he asks. So much of what passes as “news” isn’t about reporting the truth; rather it is about big business and money. ….
(The evening was sponsored by Citizens4Community and The Nugget Newspaper.)