You’ve probably been hearing this argument a lot lately in the wake of tech tyrants de-platforming prominent conservatives, especially President Trump, and even shutting down entire sites like Parler. You complain about them taking away our right to free speech, and they smugly come back with something like: “The 1st Amendment doesn’t apply to private corporations, they can do whatever they want.” This is the sophomoric prattling of a pseudo-intellectual who has no concept of the true nature of rights. Their understanding of the Constitution is comparable to the average twelve year old’s understanding of Macbeth.

When someone tries to defend denials of free speech, they like to say, “the 1st Amendment doesn’t cover private corporations,” that is technically true; the amendment only governs the actions of the government. This is a red-herring, as the right to free speech does not come from any government. It is an inalienable right that comes from God. No government or entity can bestow that right on you, it is your from birth as a free man or woman. The Framers knew this, that’s why upon closer inspection, the Constitution and the Bill of Rights describe what the government can’t do, what activities (rights) it can’t deny its citizens. They believed that certain rights, “…Among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness,” are given by God, and therefore no man, not even a king, can claim to give them for they are not theirs to give in the first place. The only thing a government or private entity can do is take that right from you. If they do it without consent, or without due process, then the taking of that right is tyranny, period.

As an aside… When the left assert that healthcare is a human right, they are basically claiming that healthcare is an inalienable right. Sound familiar? Notice they don’t mention the Constitution as the source of that right. If the Constitution isn’t the source, then who or what is? The Government? Humans weren’t created by any government, so then the answer must be the Creator of humans. So then, they expect you to believe that you have a right to healthcare, (that requires the service of others by the way), that comes from On High, but your right to free speech is somehow a function of the some corporation, some unelected group of men? Ask them: Why the difference? Who has determined this? Funny how they get to determine that some rights are human rights, while others only exist if they come from the government and only apply with regards to said government. Convenient.