Yeah, it was mine. A Palmerton High teacher posted something mildly critical of Charles Kirk on his Facebook page, and ill-informed people on the right demanded some sort of punitive action. The room had a fairly large crowd, but only two of us spoke about this issue–me and a young woman from one of the teacher’s classes who gave him high praise.
Here’s what I said:
My name is Roy Christman. I live in the Palmerton Area School District at 6495 Pohopoco Drive, Lehighton. I am a graduate of Palmerton High School, Class of 60, and my mom, Ellen Christman, was the first woman ever elected to the Palmerton Area School Board.
I taught classes in American Government, including Constitutional Law and American Political Theory, at San José State University for 28 years. I’ve also taught American government courses at other colleges, including LCCC, East Stroudsburg State University, and Penn State–Behrend Campus.
I can testify that many of my students had a hard time with the Constitution. The language of 1787 is a bit more flowery than that of 2025.
On the other hand, the First Amendment, adopted in 1791, is crystal clear, even to a high school sophomore.
“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.”
You may not punish someone because you don’t like his or her political views expressed on a Facebook page. You can’t be forced to worship a certain way or be punished for the way you worship. You have the right to criticize the highest officials in the land in a letter to the Times News. You can stand on the street corner with a sign that says “Let’s go, Brandon” or “Publish the Epstein files.”
I brought along ten pocket constitutions if anyone needs one. You can also download the text from the Internet. It really is a wonderful document we can be proud of.
Thank you.
I good a nice round of applause, and a thank you from the attorney for the School District. Do I feel good? You betcha.
Now I wait for the knock on the door.
👏🏽"You may not punish someone because you don’t like his or her political views expressed on a Facebook page." You "may" not but you "can". With my present attitude you might to save me a place to sleep on cell floor. The best purpose of a Nazi is to be killed! But they are biodegradable.
ReplyDeleteI think that other Carbon County communities could also use your expertise on what the constitution says and what it means for people. It seems like too many people only know about the second amendment.
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