Filmmaker and political satirist Ami Horowitz went to one of the most prestigious universities in this great nation with an amazing proposition to get rid of any and all words that you don’t like, you don’t agree with or might make you uncomfortable. He approached college students at Yale and asked them to sign a petition. The novel idea in the petition would not only make the entire Yale campus a safe space, but the ENTIRE United States a safe space! Is the press covering an event that you don’t want exposed? No problem, this petition addresses that pesky issue as well without you having to request the help of some “muscle.” What is this magical solution? Simply get rid of the 1st Amendment of the United States Constitution.
Absurd right? I’m certain that the enlightened students of such a prestigious institution as Yale would certainly scoff at such a ridiculous proposal to repeal one of the ten amendments that constitute the Bill of Rights that have been the foundation of this great nation since December 15, 1791. But they did. And if you’ve been following the events on college campuses all over the country over the past months and trigger warnings, microaggressions and controversy over Halloween costumes, then this probably doesn’t surprise you.
Yes, they were willing to abolish that First Amendment that promises that “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion.” Yes, that First Amendment that “prohibits 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.”
One coddled student said about dissolving the First Amendment, “I think this is fantastic, I absolutely agree.” Another delusional student said, “I think it’s really awesome that you’re out here.”
In under an hour, Horowitz collected over 50 signatures from students calling for the repeal of the 1st Amendment of the Constitution at the Yale campus.
If there was no First Amendment, any and all criticisms of the government and college presidents would be silenced. All of those public demonstrations that happen on college campuses would no longer be welcomed, but rather squashed in a second. Doesn’t seem worth it just to get rid of some language that you deem to be “offensive.”
C’mon Yale, you’re better than this. You’ve had five U.S. Presidents come from your acclaimed university.