I am glad that I am allowed to speak freely; Let's talk for a moment.

I have a splendid idea for my first post on Two-Bit Pundits—let us tackle the Bill of Rights, shall we? To paraphrase Peter Shaffer’s script of Amadeus, I am a vulgar man; I assure you my Art is not. I will attempt to entertain you, to educate you, to titillate and amuse; I may also incorporate satire and whimsy into my essays. What I will try not to do is to bore you. If you are reading this screed, you have likely journeyed far enough into the educated world that basic World and / or United States history are subjects to which you’ve already been exposed. This is good—I am not a teacher. I am another person walking the cobblestones next to you, and I hope we may chat as we stroll.


Unfortunately, this format engenders more of a monologue than a dialogue, but you may feel free to respond in comments below. I will read them, insofar as I am able, and I will respond in kind. Intelligent, thoughtful counterpoints are appreciated and encouraged, as I do not live in a vacuum. If you respond with buffoonery, silence shall be your reward—lucky you.
Let us now return to the First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States;
Baby steps, of course, we’ll begin with the first (ratified) amendment:


“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”


In practice and in principle, this is a crucial bit of lawmaking for me, and those of my ilk: Those who speak aloud what they think. It is the foundation for all of America’s freedoms, real or imagined; for what is freedom if you don’t have the ability (the Right) to call your state’s Senator a gibbering Neanderthal with an alley-cat’s morals? Upon such freedoms are we built.

He and Albert Einstein--separated at birth?

To build the man I am today, exposures to various pundits and writers became part of my soul, and of my character. I used doses of Hunter S. Thompson, Kurt Vonnegut, and Tom Wolfe; I was seasoned with Harlan Ellison, Mark Twain, Herman Melville and Philip K. Dick; real fire was added to the broth with Ken Kesey, Stephen King, Harry Stack Sullivan and Thomas Aquinas.


These writers taught me that educating yourself is paramount; that what is Right is immutable, within yourself; that it is better by far to show kindness unbidden; to never give up; and to always say what you mean, and mean what you say. Without the first amendment, most of those writers would have never had their voices reach the masses, and thusly, me. I would not be the same person were my forefathers not extant in the form of written scrolls. Or screenplays.

The modern world has given us the gift of cinema, an art form inconceivable (except as magic) only a century ago…giant images projected onto a flat screen; fantastic imaginings, full of sound and fury signifying Sequels. Movies have also taught me much about treating my thoughts as screenplays—the arts of Stanley Kubrick, Akira Kurosawa, Peter Greenaway, Robert Altman, James Cameron, Steven Spielberg and yes, even George Lucas, all have had an impact on my perceptions of my universe. From these artists, in a quite different way, I learned to champion truth, to gaze in awe and wonder at glorious spectacles, to appreciate the sound of a violin wailing a soft dirge for a deceased Hero.


To sum up, being allowed to speak your mind is good. Censorship is bad. Without the privilege that my teachers had, courtesy of the First Continental Congress, I would have never found my own voice.


With such a cocktail, we can hope that I can describe what I see, in a manner that is digestible, and impart some nuggets of the unknown. Otherwise, we have both wasted our time.