Robert Pratt
Far too many actually support policies like that of Texas Tech which create free speech areas on public property for the purpose of limiting speech in the public square.
Ricky Moore is a Christian who is using very clever and non-threatening methods to engage the public in discussion about their soul and relationship with God. He has been doing so in a heavily trafficked area of the Great Lawn in Klyde Warren Park in Dallas which is the new, popular park built above the short freeway that runs across the north side of downtown.
Officials have conspired to force him to move to the park’s “smallest patch of grass” which is an area the mandarins have designated for free speech, according to the Dallas Morning News. And as you’d guess, the designated area is one with very little foot traffic.
Being made uncomfortable and having to hear ideas and thoughts different from your own is part of what makes free speech worth protecting; free speech protection serves no purpose other than self-indulgence otherwise.
Such policies fly in the face of true American free speech and are supported by many because they are made uncomfortable by those who often do the speaking. Being made uncomfortable and having to hear ideas and thoughts different from your own is part of what makes free speech worth protecting; free speech protection serves no purpose other than self-indulgence otherwise.
Moore stood for his right to speak freely on public property and was cited for trespass. The city claims it shouldn’t be sued because the park is run by the Woodall Rogers Park Foundation but the city does own the park and its officer issued the citation for trespass.
Tara Green, the park president, claims the “park’s procedures are the result of careful consideration and fully comport with the First Amendment.”
Moore’s lawyer rightly points out that the park is full of folk playing guitars, bongos, doing gymnastics and the like on the Great Lawn but his client, Ricky Moore, is being pushed away. Is there any doubt that it’s because he actually engages in speech, religious speech?
Free speech on public property being forced into a corner where few will hear is rarely an issue of public safety and more often an illegitimate scheme to interfere with our rights.
I think the officer, unless he was directly ordered by a supervisor to write a ticket, should have just walked on by and continued his patrol. Unless the namesake is causing an obvious disturbance, he should be left alone. Of course, that is my libertarian thinking and a lot of folks think if an officer comes, he must do something, even though there is no violation and he knows the man is exercising his rights. I am glad he is able to sue the City and others over this. Obviously, Tara has no particular idea what the Constitution says about his activities. Her lawyer who told her this apparently told her what she wanted to hear. I am glad I am no longer a student at TTU and might be obliged to go to a free speech area. I guess I would get a ticket also.