Editor’s Notes: First Amendment under fire
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Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me.
Though that has turned out to be outdated thinking these days (and, in fact, words can hurt very deeply) it is unnerving to watch the degree to which some lawmakers in Charleston are absolutely terrified of words.
One example of many is House Bill 5240 "Eliminating woke words and woke agendas from government communications." The purpose of HB 5240 is "to eliminate woke words and agendas from state government documents, websites, literature, and in person."
Catch that bit about "in person?" Horrifying, isn't it?
These alleged freedom-lovers have really given up pretending they don't want to control every aspect of West Virginians' lives.
If you don't believe me, check out this fragment from line 2 of the bill: "relating to RESTRICTING SPEECH by eliminating ..." (emphasis mine).
This is doing more than saying the quiet part out loud. This is shouting from the rooftops that the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution means nothing to these folks.
I could go on and on about how the list of examples given in the language of the bill is expertly curated to make many people believe they should agree with it. Or about how the word "woke" is not usually interpreted as an insult by the people at whom some of these lawmakers hurl it like a weapon.
I could quote Dolly Parton: "I don't want to offend anybody. ... As soon as you realize that [something] is a problem, you should fix it. Don't be a d*****s. That's where my heart is. I would never dream of hurting anybody on purpose."
But that's not really what this is about. The word "woke" is even more open to interpretation than the word "obscene." Who gets to decide? One could argue such a law would endanger civil rights, equal opportunity, accessibility and inclusion efforts to a degree that would be catastrophic for (most) West Virginians.
And, again, the sponsors of this bill, Dels. Kathie Hess Crouse, R-Putnam, Mickey Petitto, R-Harrison, David Adkins, R-Lincoln, and Mark Dean, R-Mingo, aren't even worried about telling Mountain State residents the goal of this legislation is "restricting speech."
I sincerely hope that -- maybe even by the time my worries hit print -- this bill has died a quiet death; and that the reasonable, intelligent, compassionate, Constitutionalist lawmakers I know are just as tired of all this nonsense as I am have made it clear they've had enough.
But even if it does, the fact that four lawmakers were proud to put their names on written language that would restrict speech -- even in-person! -- should be a wake-up call for voters. This isn't principled conservatism. This isn't right-sizing government and eliminating fraud, waste and abuse. This is government so desperate for control that it hopes to dictate even what is spoken.
How many jobs will it create? How many roads will it fix? For how many West Virginians will it improve healthcare or education? The answers are zero, and for a small but loud faction in Charleston, they simply don't care. Their mission is quite the opposite of those things and they're thrilled to get the chance to try to achieve it. For goodness sake we have got to quit giving it to them.
Christina Myer is executive editor of The Parkersburg News and Sentinel. She can be reached via e-mail at cmyer@newsandsentinel.com