Letter: CAN WE AGREE?

The First Amendment mandates that the U.S. government allow free speech, even speech protesting the government. Recently, Democratic leaders and celebrities protested the suspension of Jimmy Kimmel, but so did Tucker Carlson, a conservative political commentator. Carlson criticized the head of the Department of Justice. Pam Bondi had indicated that those who spoke against the President could be prosecuted. Conservative commentator Guy Benson posted that “the overt government meddling in all of this remains very concerning.” Senator Rand Paul and Senator Ted Cruz both spoke against the FCC ruling suspending Kimmel.  

Suspending a commentator/ comedian who complained about the government raises serious indications of dictatorship. This is the first time since January 2025 that there has been resistance from conservatives on a constitutional issue by “We the People.” 

Heather Cox Richardson, in her Political Chat (9/19/2025) on YouTube, states that the people who want to ditch the Constitution are in the minority. She describes the Bill of Rights in the Constitution as the guideline that most Americans want to keep, stating that she believes only a small minority loyal to Trump want to end the Constitution. 

I wrote a letter to the editor about the “Us versus Them “mentality about two weeks before the horrendous death of Charles Kirk. In that letter, I noted language from the Trump regime that I consider to be hate language. I worry that this type of language incites violence, but an America that continues to abide by the Constitution suggests that we want debate with guidelines and structure in our democracy. We want negotiation. 

America is passionate about the right to debate, the right to speak our minds. We do not have to agree with concepts, but we have the right to speak them. We must never cross the line to incite violence, as was the case on Jan 6, 2021 or with the death of Senator Melissa Hortman and Charles Kirk. However, we must uphold the right to look at what the perpetrators and their victims stood for and decide for ourselves the America we want to live in. That requires transparency in investigation and litigation and honesty from the media. 

I sincerely hope people in America choose nonviolent, peaceful discourse that welcomes all people, cultures, religions, and genders in an equal way. We must accept that there will be those who disagree. However, we do not have to accept anyone imposing their views on the rest of us in a way that alters what we believe and speak about our world. The First Amendment gives us the right to choose our religion and to speak our minds in protest, and we must protect these rights.

Sincerely,

Marita Florini 

Newark Valley, N.Y.