You may not like some things about the United States, but you better thank god for the First Amendment…
The lovely Ken White of PopeHat.com has a new (and thankfully brief) article up on the First Amendment… If you’re an artist you need to listen up real good. This is what keeps you out of jail for making things like ‘Piss Christ’.
Hello! You’ve Been Referred Here Because You’re Wrong About The First Amendment.
Welcome! Someone has referred you to this post because you’ve said something quite wrong about the First Amendment.
I apologize for this impersonal approach to your mistake. I would prefer to offer you an artisanal response to your wrongness, something that would respect and celebrate the unique ways that you’ve taken one of the most fundamental aspects of our mutual civic heritage as Americans and shat your ignorance upon it.
Read the whole article: https://popehat.com/2016/06/11/hello-youve-been-referred-here-because-youre-wrong-about-the-first-amendment/
If you’re an artist, that includes writers, then nothing is more important to your safety and well-being than the First Amendment.
The First Amendment is what stops the State from jailing you for making or saying things some foolish people do not like, the First Amendment and the culture it has created is what prevents mobs from turning up at your office because boo-hoo you said something mean, the First Amendment is the life blood of the American artist…
You also need to remember that the First Amendment empowers and protects you and everybody else no matter the stupid crap they might say…
And as an artist, your job is not to silence those who say stupid things but to instead offer counter-narratives.