By Ray Cardello for March 21, 2024, Season 25 / Post 25

The recent unfortunate event in New York City, which honored the promoted FDNY members, poses many questions about rights and decisions. As does the outburst by the Gold Star father who shouted down Joe Biden as he delivered the State of the Union address. Freedom of Speech is paramount to a free society, as is decorum and respect for those around us. It is a balancing act, but Freedom of Speech is protected in the Constitution. I do not think decorum appears in that incredible document. The incidents at the NYFD honor ceremony and the Joe Biden State of the Union may be guilty of lacking decorum, but they should be protected speech.

The incident at the FDNY event would never have happened if anyone else had been at the microphone other than New York Attorney General Letitia James. You have to ask if she was on the program before or after the ruling in the Trump v. NYC fraud case. Either way, she had no connection or place at this ceremony. That is how the firefighters in the audience saw her appearance. As soon as James was introduced, the boos rang down from the rank and file. The boos quickly evolved to calls for Trump. The audience’s actions embarrassed James, and her ego will not allow that insult to her highness to go unchecked. There is an investigation into who was chanting with the threat of disciplinary action for anyone not coming forward to confess. The AG and the Fire Department are using the fact these folks were on the clock and, therefore, guilty of insubordination. That is pretty lame.

The gentleman with the loud voice at the SOTU, was Gold Star Father Steve Nikoui who lost one of his sons during the botched evacuation of Afghanistan in 2021. The heckling was a reference to an attack at the Abbey Gate of Hamid Karzai International Airport in Afghanistan that occurred during the evacuation. Nikoui was further devastated in 2022 when he lost another son to suicide. His son was unable to get over the loss of his brother. Life circumstance does not, and maybe should not, be an excuse for a person’s actions. But under the circumstances, most people feel that Nikoui should be given some leniency for he has already paid a huge price that will continue for the rest of his life. For nearly two weeks, the charges remained on the books until Tuesday night, when the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia — which is under the direct supervision of Attorney General Merrick Garland, announced the charges against Nikoui had been dropped. This is a decision most people can support.

These are two examples of the existence of a microscope we all live under in this new world order. If what you say merely offends someone or a party, you are guilty, and we will find a charge to fit. Free Speech to Democrats is an inconvenient right that needs to be controlled. That control is in the form of political persecution. Other examples are people praying outside of abortion clinics, conservative speakers on American college campuses, or the practice of avoiding coverage of any Donald Trump speech, calling them all misinformation.

The rules have changed, and we no longer need debate or a vote to make those changes. The Democrats. who used to say they were the Party of the People are now the Party of power and self-preservation.