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The First
There has been a lot of news lately about free speech. I am quite concerned about (the Wall Street Journal reporter) Evan Gershkovich’s arrest in Russia. The Journal ran a story this week stating that a world-wide record number of journalists were arrested in 2022; the highest number of detainees held were in Iran, China and Myanmar.
Free speech is both a foundation of our country and something we easily take for granted. At the beach last week, I saw a shirtless man, who really should have put on sunscreen before spending the day under the sun, wearing swim shorts that resembled the American flag. Personally, I don’t like clothes that mimic the flag. But, that sunburned man has every right to wear them. Freedom of expression, assembly and speech are so important for Americans that we tend to overlook how blessed and unique we are. Evan’s arrest has reminded me of just how important the 1st Amendment is. Yet, with something as ingrained in our culture as free speech, it’s easy for us to presuppose its permanence. That presupposition comes at great peril.
There is a wide gulf between being able to freely discuss and express oneself and agreeing with everything that is being expressed. It’s my opinion that the Kremlin didn’t like what Evan had written, or was going to write, so they arrested him. Likewise, in other countries, it would appear the governing powers must agree with what the citizenry is saying or there will be problems. But, for us, we distinctly hold that free speech is not hinged to agreeing on what is said or expressed.
There are two weekly discussion groups at All Angels. It is an open forum to listen and speak on a variety of topics – usually pretty controversial ones. There are two rules as follows: each person will have the opportunity to speak; everyone has the obligation to listen. But, we do not have to agree. In fact, the best discussions are the ones in which we do not all agree but leave as friends and, frankly, more educated about a particular topic and various points of view.
A church member, Anne Roberts, sent me an open letter from Havidan Rodriguez, President of the University of Albany – where she was a professor – addressing the importance of having challenging conversations about free speech. He wrote that free speech is the “foundation of the inquiry, scholarship and debate that define the power of higher education. Without it, we could not develop critical thinking; engage in spirited discussions about controversial issues; or express the diversity of ideas that characterize our communities.” President Rodriquez wrote that free speech takes work, commitment and our responsibility to protect the rights of those with whom we agree and those with whom we might vehemently disagree. Protecting our rights also means we must protect the rights of others. He concluded with this: “We do not need to agree in order to co-exist as neighbors, classmates and colleagues. We can embrace our diversity of thought and expression while also treating each other with dignity and respect.”
The Anglican Communion, and our American corner of it, The Episcopal Church, identify as people of common prayer. We believe in prayer and we believe in praying together. Our common prayer does not dictate that we first agree on everything – politically, socially or even theologically. We believe in the importance of gathering, praying, and serving the world in Jesus’ name. We do not believe in agreeing on everything. … if we did it would be a very small Church.
If a sunburned man showed up at church wearing shorts that looked like the American flag, we would welcome him as we welcome others. After all, I don’t have to agree with his clothing choices in order to be in common prayer. And he doesn’t have to agree with my clothing choices either.
-Rev. Dave
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