Is Decency a Violation of the 1st  Amendment?

It might seem that way if you watch T.V., go to the movies, read the newspapers, listen to our politicians, and mingle among the public.

Look at how people treat each other, especially when it comes to good manners. When I was growing up, I was taught by my parents that I should not speak ill of another person (within reason), that I should give up my seat on a bus or train to a woman or an elderly person, that I should hold the door to enter or exit a place or building for either male or female, that we should respect our teachers, our policemen, and our elders out of respect or by their positions in life.

Why is there a lack of civility that seems to affect all walks of our lives today? Is there a conscious effort to do so, or is it just a lack of parental direction due to the many breakups of families and the increase of poverty as a result of well meaning laws that didn't work as promised?

Look what is happening in the “arena” of politics today. The word arena seems to be apropos in describing what is going on. Because a certain party did not win the last election, it seems that it is open season on our president (the winner) by vilifying him and calling him vile names and by showing total disrespect for the office of president. The stream of invective seems to be never ending. Even if he does something right, his detractors (enemies) will never give him credit or acknowledge his achievements. And unfortunately, the amount of disrespect is not reserved for the president alone, it also extends to his immediate family, including his teenage child, and to people in his administration when they are out in public. It seems that proper manners is a thing of the past when it comes to the President of the United States and others associated with him.

In the general society itself, common decency takes a back seat to vicious vituperation, mostly of a personal nature. Groups like ANTIFA, Black Lives Matter, the KKK and other assorted “hate” groups, bring civility to a halt by their violent, anti-social actions.

Anything goes with these groups, and they justify their actions because, according to them, their cause is just. They personify the axiom that the “end justifies the means”.

The lack of manners and good will among people has turned relative against relative, neighbor against neighbor, young against old, and country against country. It seems to be getting worse, not better, and it seems that bad behavior is becoming the norm rather than the exception.

A contributing factor in this assault on good manners, is the total abdication of balance and fairness in the media, both visual and in print. They, instead of being a positive bridge between various sections of society, they have taken sides by condemning one side and praising the other side. A recent study by Harvard University, found that over 90% of the stories that they report on are overwhelmingly negative toward President Trump. This, in turn, makes supporters of President Trump see a conspiracy against their man, and it generates an anger against those who are supposed to be neutral in reporting the news. Some of the negative and salacious stories are “made up out of whole cloth”, that's where the term “fake news” comes into play.

So in answer to our editorial, decency should not be a violation of the 1^st Amendment, and a concerted effort must be made by all people of goodwill, to bring back decency and good manners back into our lives, like it was, mostly in years gone by.