“The right to free speech and the unrealistic expectation to never be offended cannot coexist,” rightly observed Philip Sharp. It seems, however, that the “unrealistic expectation” cited by the retired U.S. Army Ranger and author is being viewed increasingly as a right.

The belief that individuals have a “right” to not be offended seems to be gaining momentum in the United States. As this concept grows in popularity it is set to challenge one of America’s first freedoms — the freedom of speech. If the “right” against offense ever triumphs, if it is ever enshrined in law, free speech, of necessity, will cease to exist.

The Founding Fathers believed that man is ultimately accountable to God and not government. As a result, they were quick to add the Bill of Rights to their newly drafted Constitution. The very First Amendment they adopted stated in part: “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech …”

Having chafed under an oppressive government that recognized only one official religion and oppressed political dissent, the Founders wanted individuals to be free to pursue the dictates of conscience in matters of faith and speech.

While they were not all were followers of Christ in the strictest sense of the word, there was a consensus among the Founders that biblical principles were acceptable, strong and necessary underpinnings for a solid society.

Make no mistake: the Founders were protecting the government from encroaching on any speech that might be deemed unpopular or offensive. They wanted to guarantee that dissent was allowed.

Fast forward to the past few decades and it appears there is growing dissatisfaction with the Founders’ protection of speech. Though individuals, groups and sometimes those in the government have whined at times about offensive speech and the expression of dissent, the bulwark of the First Amendment has thus far held strong.
However, the assaults of political correctness — introduced in the latter half of the last century — pound against the idea of protecting speech, especially speech that might be considered by some to be offensive. Currently, it seems, many in America are willing to embrace freedom from offense over and above the freedom of speech.

[Editor’s note: This article is incomplete. The source for this document was originally published on bpnews.net—however, the original URL is no longer available.]