First Amendment: Then and Now by Roger Carlton

Roger Carlton lived in Robbinsville, NC, until he moved north. He is a man I admire and I believe he should have a voice here.   This article is appropriate for what is happening now.

  October 1, 2025 Column

First Amendment: Then and Now

Last week, Beth and I, our daughter, and our son-in-law attended a lecture by Lech Walesa. Those of us with some gray hair will remember that he was the Polish labor leader who led the Solidarity Movement that brought democracy to a former Soviet Union vassal state. He began with a small labor union at the Gdansk Shipyard. The union was outlawed, and he was arrested a number of times. When he was released, he continued his efforts to move Poland from a Socialist-Leninist economy to a free market economy. In 1989, an election was held, and Poland’s democratic government was launched. For his courageous achievements, Lech Walesa was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

There were a number of statements made by Mr. Walesa that are apropos of our First Amendment conflict today. 

First, he said, “We started with a few folks meeting to form an illegal union banned by our government, and soon we were 10 million strong.” 

The second statement was “Trying to stifle free speech always ends badly for the person doing the stifling.” 

What an honor to attend a speech by someone who changed the world. He and his movement began the end of the Soviet Union's oppressive regime.

So, what does this have to do with our First Amendment? A little history might prove interesting. The Framers wanted 12 amendments, which were to become known as the Bill of Rights. This brilliant idea meant that the core Constitution would not be changed. As time went on, amendments could be added or deleted as a single subject to be voted on by Congress and the states. This flexibility led to the adoption and repeal of Prohibition. It also led to the rejection of the Equal Rights Amendment. The state legislatures rejected the first two Amendments, leaving the Third Amendment as the First Amendment we find so controversial today. Don’t let anyone tell you it was the primary amendment because the Framers found it to be the most important.

The main protections in the First Amendment are religious liberty and freedom of speech, press, assembly, and petition. Religious liberty allowed people to practice their religion of choice and prohibited the government from establishing a national religion. Freedom of speech and the press prohibited censorship. Assembly and petition were focused on the right to meet and petition the government for redress of the issues of the day.

The Framers never dreamed of television, the internet, or social media. They were thinking about newspapers and pamphlets. There were no influencers with millions of followers. The Framers did not make their living by electronically reaching millions of people. George Washington and Thomas Jefferson traveled by horse and stagecoach. They were gentleman farmers when not forming a new democracy shaped on some pretty incredible ideas about the rights of most people. It took a while and a Civil War for slaves and women to truly become equal.

Censorship is the pernicious violation of the First Amendment rights of all of us. We are all self-censors by choosing which media to watch or read. Censorship comes in many forms. Editing an important investigatory document to remove a reference to someone in power is censorship in the form of redacting or failure to release the damaging evidence. Threatening to use government power to retaliate economically or legally is a form of censorship known as weaponization. Billions of dollars can ride on governmental approval or denial of a corporate application. Using unproven data or plain quackery to justify a government action is a form of censorship of science-based proven facts.

Unbridled censorship may lead to attempts to control thought. This can be seen in book burnings or in the removal of symbols, such as statues of people no longer in favor. There is an old Soviet joke wherein a citizen attends a protest and holds up a blank sign. When he asks the authorities why he was arrested, the response is “You might not have said it, but we know what you were thinking.”

To be fair, sometimes censorship is necessary. Remember the old saying, “You can’t yell fire in a theater if there is no fire.” How about “loose lips sink ships.” The real issue regarding the First Amendment limits on censorship is one we have yet to solve. People can say anything they want, and it goes “viral.” Millions of people can believe a statement with no validity and take action at the polls as a result. We might have our own Lech Walesa someday in the near future. We should hope that person believes in democracy and not autocracy.

Roger Carlton

"Your legacy is how many lives you touched."

Beth, Glenda, and Roger 

Years ago, I taught writing classes at Tri-County Community College in Murphy, NC. Roger Carlton was a student in my classes three times. His stories were interesting, and we all learned something from listening to him read his work in class. Roger has had an interesting life, and it showed in his writing.

Roger and I became friends. After taking my classes, Roger, who lived in Robbinsville, began writing columns for the local newspaper there. I began publishing his columns on a page on my blog. www.glendacouncilbeall.com 

Frequently, Roger, his wife Beth, and another friend, Kim, would invite me to lunch with them in Murphy. He invited me to come up to Robbinsville and spend a day with him and Beth. They are the nicest people, and I enjoyed them so very much. 

Years passed. The pandemic happened, my health became a problem, and we didn't see each other as often. I had begun planning to move to Roswell, GA where I have family. At our last lunch together (see the photo above), Roger and Beth told me they were selling their beautiful home on the lake and moving up north to be near a daughter. It seemed we were all experiencing health issues. 

In the following years, I had two surgeries, knee and shoulder, and when I heard from Roger again, it was to read about his long battle with surgery and a long, difficult recovery. 

But he was still writing! He continued to send articles to the newspaper in Robbinsville, NC, and they were published. 

Roger has always been complimentary of my classes, which he said started him writing.

This week, I was so impressed and proud when I opened a package and found a hardback book by Roger Carlton, signed to me. "You are my muse.  Your Creative Non-Fiction I - III got me going."

We never know what will come of it when we touch someone's life. Maya Angelou told Oprah, "Your legacy is not a building with your name on it. Your legacy is how many lives you touched." 

As an older person now, I don't touch as many lives as I once did with my teaching, my support for writers' endeavors, encouragement, and belief in them. But I am fulfilled when any of my students or my friends reach a goal or accomplish a dream they struggled for. 

Roger Carlton has touched many lives in his work as City Manager for several municipalities in the Miami area, and this book reveals his success in that role at Miami Beach. His reputation for dealing with the issues faced every day, and his ability to manage it all, led others in charge of their cities to seek his advice. 

Congratulations, my friend, Roger Carlton.