Noise #132: "You keep speaking, and I’ll stand guard"
Free speech, violent threats, and a path towards un-warping America
A New York Times editorial this week describes how right-wing violent threats are warping life in America.
Decent people are driven from public office, the article states. Dissenters are terrified into silence.
Writer David French talks about a time when he himself earned the threat of a bullet to the face, and how a young sheriff’s deputy—most likely on the far opposite of the political spectrum—stood watch outside French’s house all night to ensure his family’s safety.
“I’m a vet,” French quotes the deputy as having told him, “and I volunteered to serve because I believe in our Constitution. I believe in free speech. You keep speaking, and I’ll stand guard.”
I recorded Noise #132 thinking about the noble concept embodied by that deputy, the image of each of us standing guard outside the houses of our most vocal critics—and them doing the same for us.
Wishing you peace,
Michael
(Noise #132 by Michael Gallant. Copyright 2024 Gallant Music LLC. All Rights Reserved. )