The Right to Protest

Watching the news the past month of so, you have seen much protests. Whether is is in the United States or in the Middle East.It started out with a revolution in Tunisia. Soon after it spread to Egypt, causing the ouster of it's long time tyrant, Hosni Mubarak.

But as the Egyptian protesters were getting their way, it seems that all hell broke loose in some parts of America, mainly in the state of Wisconsin. I wouldn't want the job of Governor, Mayor or any other executive in this day and age. Even in good times you always have people gunning for you. Your job is even tougher when your serving in the worst economy since the Great Depression. Less jobs means less people working. Less people working means less tax money coming into the state. Less tax money means less money to pay for state services. Of course the cost of doing business never goes down. So with less money coming in, Governors and Mayors have some tough decisions to make.

Meet Scott Walker, the Governor of Wisconsin. New on the job, the State of Wisconsin is faced with record budget deficits. So Walker proposed a budget repair bill with some controversial parts. Parts of it call for Wisconsin state employees to contribute more in their pensions and their health insurance. As expected, the state employees unions voiced their opposition. But what really angered the state employees was a proposal that would virtually eliminate all collective bargaining rights for state employees. Since then, the unions have been on the streets of Madison.

As I stated, Walker has some tough decisions to make. That's part of his job. It's debatable whether or not employees should contribute more to their pensions and health insurance. But that is what negotiating is all about. He should have known he'd light a powder keg by any attempt to take away collective bargaining rights. I'm a non-union guy and disagree with a lot of union politics. But I understand why they are upset with parts of Walker's bill.

On the flip side, the Tea Party staged a counter protest in Madison. As usual, they protested the size and growth of government. The Tea Party first made themselves known when they were opposed by President Barack Obama's health care bill. They were very influential in the recent mid-term elections, helping a boatload of Republicans get elected. To this day, they remain a consistent voice in the opposition of big government.

Regardless of whether you're a union guy or a Tea Party guy, there's one cool thing about America (there's a lot of cool things about living in America but here's the number one thing): the right to protest. The right to free speech. The First Amendment of the United States Constitution. The Amendment that gives you a voice. You can protest in Wisconsin, Washington DC and all over American and not worry about getting shot at. Or killed. Or get arrested for speaking your mind. The same can't be said in many parts of the world.

Just ask the people of Libya. Fed up with the oppression and the policies of long time dictator Muammar al-Gaddafi, the people of Libya took to the streets and protested. Just like the unions and the Tea Party. They were welcomed with getting shot at and killed. Gaddafi's government hired mercenarys for the specific purpose of fighting the protesters. You see much of the same in places like Iran, China and Cuba.

Whether you belong to a union or a Tea Party member (OK I'm more of a Tea Party guy, but that's for another blog for another time) Poets and Madmen Blog respects and encourages the right to protest. The space will also stand against any attempt to curb free speech rights. Our forefathers made it the First Amendment for a reason.