They say you don’t miss water until the well runs dry.
Well, in America, that well – the one labeled free expression – is being drained.
Drop by drop. Ban by ban. Arrest by arrest.

And too many of us don’t notice until it’s gone.

This week, we’ve explored the First Amendment – the very first line in the Bill of Rights and the foundation of the American social contract. The right to speak. The right to worship. The right to publish. The right to protest. The right to petition our government for change.

But here’s the hard truth:
A right that’s not used is a right that’s easily erased.
And the First Amendment won’t protect itself.
We have to protect it – by practicing it. Loudly. Intentionally. Together.

💬 What I Heard from You This Week

I was very glad to receive comments and emails from readers in response to this week’s posts – some offering support, some offering pushback, and some offering outright disagreement. And I want to say something clearly:

I deeply disagree with some of the positions that were shared.
But even more deeply, I believe in your right to share those positions.
That’s what the First Amendment is for. That’s what this is for.

The feedback raised three urgent needs that go beyond left and right, beyond red and blue, and cut straight to the survival of the social contract itself:

1️⃣ We need a reliable source of facts.

One commenter said, “Well, that’s just your version of the facts.”

We’re not just disagreeing on opinion, we’re disagreeing on reality.
We’re in desperate need of trusted places that do the hard work of getting to the fundamentals — not spin, not slogans, not partisan filters — but actual, verifiable, shared facts.

As the saying goes:

“You are entitled to your own opinion, but not your own facts.”
But these days, too many people are building belief systems on foundations made of sand.

That’s why some have called for a Fact Territory. This is a shared ground where truth can be examined, verified, and protected. Because when we abandon facts, we abandon democracy.

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2️⃣ We need a shared way to resolve disputes.

Once upon a time, even with all our flaws, we believed in systems that resolved tension and conflict.
If five people wanted a traffic light and twenty-five didn’t, we voted. The outcome wasn’t always fair, but the process existed. That was the social contract.

Yes, it was imperfect. Yes, it excluded whole communities from voting, voicing, or challenging injustice.
But there was a system; one that, at its best, aspired toward fairness.

And now? That system is being dismantled.

We see it when state legislatures override the will of voters like in Florida, where people voted to restore voting rights for returning citizens, only to have the legislature gut the implementation.
We see it when school boards censor curriculum, not by democratic debate, but by threats and political interference.
We see it when Supreme Court decisions gut long-standing precedents that protected personal liberty and public trust.

The very systems that helped us resolve tension are being eroded, or outright destroyed.

3️⃣ We need symmetric information.

Right now, we are living in segmented silos, divided not just by belief, but by information itself.

Some people get their facts from one source. Others from another. And far too many people get no reliable information at all. That’s not just polarization. That’s fragmentation.

A functioning society depends on symmetric information, where people generally share the same basic facts about the world around them. If the house is on fire, everyone on the street should know – not just one group while the other remains clueless.

Without symmetric information, we don’t just disagree we live in different realities. And when that happens, there is no social contract to repair, because there’s no common ground to stand on.

So yes, keep the comments coming. Even if I disagree.
Because disagreement isn’t the problem. Silence is.
Disconnection is. Disinformation is. And apathy most of all.

I just ask that you keep it civil. There is a space for hostile engagement. This space ain’t it.

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🧭 The First Line of Defense Is You

The First Amendment isn’t some abstract legal theory. It lives and dies in real life — in classrooms, courtrooms, pulpits, protests, newsrooms, and dinner tables. It requires everyday people to stand up, speak out, and support one another. Not just when it’s easy — but especially when it’s hard.

Here’s what defending the First Amendment looks like in practice:

🗣️ Use Your Voice

• Speak out at school board meetings, city halls, public hearings, or online.

• Don’t wait until your message is polished, speak from your experience.

• And when others raise their voices, and you are aligned, amplify those voices.

Because silence is contagious. And so is courage.

📚 Defend Access to Information

• Push back on book bans and curriculum censorship — especially in your state and local community.

• Show up for librarians. Show up for teachers.

• Share banned books. Teach hard history. Make sure the truth stays in circulation.

The goal of censorship isn’t just to ban a book — it’s to make you afraid to read it.

📰 Support Independent Journalism

• Subscribe to your local paper. Follow investigative journalists.

• Share their stories, especially when they challenge power.

• And before you post, fact-check. Because a free press needs a public that values truth and that fights for facts.

Freedom of the press means nothing if the press can’t afford to survive — or if people stop caring about what’s true.

🛐 Stand for Real Religious Freedom

• Support people’s right to worship, or not, without coercion.

• Resist attempts to merge church and state, or elevate one religion above others.

• And build interfaith bridges that center justice, compassion, and shared humanity.

Religious freedom doesn’t mean forcing faith. It means protecting it — for everyone.

🪧 Normalize Protest

• Attend peaceful protests. Bring a friend.

• Learn your rights — and assert them.

• Refuse to let dissent be labeled as danger.

The right to assemble isn’t just legal — it’s essential.
Movements are born in the streets long before they reach the Supreme Court.

🛠️ Tools for Action

You don’t need to be a lawyer or activist to protect the First Amendment.
But you do need to be intentional. Here are four steps you can take today:

1. Know your rights.
   Check out resources from groups like the ACLU, FIRE, and NAACP. They’ve got great toolkits for students, workers, parents, and more.

2. Talk with your kids.
   Don’t just rely on textbooks. Explain what the First Amendment means in real life — in conversations, in choices, in moments that require courage.

3. Start local.
   Your school board, library board, and city council are ground zero. That’s where the battle for speech, truth, and access is playing out. Go there.

4. Share what you're learning.
   This series isn’t a lecture. It’s a conversation. Post it. Talk about it. Ask others what they think. Democracy isn’t a solo act.

🗣 The Social Contract Starts With Voice

Here’s the harsh reality… If we lose the First, we lose the fight.

Because you can’t protect your vote if you can’t speak up about voter suppression.
You can’t defend your community if you can’t report what’s happening.
You can’t challenge injustice if protesting becomes a crime.

The First Amendment isn’t just the first right listed in the Bill of Rights.
It’s the first responsibility in the social contract.
Our democracy starts – and ends – with voice.

So, let’s protect it.
By practicing it.

Let’s be louder.
Let’s be braver.
Let’s be together.

—

In Good Faith

Dr. Chris Jones

📥 Subscribe to follow the full Social Contract series
📣 Share this post to keep the conversation going
🗣 Reflect: Where will you use your First Amendment rights this week?

🎧 Listen to the full podcast episode:
🎙 In Good Faith with Dr. Chris Jones – Episode 2: Five Freedoms, One Promise

🧭 Catch up on earlier articles in the series:

Week 1, Part 1 – What Is the Social Contract, Really?

Week 1, Part 2 – What They’ve Done to the Social Contract – Broken Trust, Broken Systems

Week 1, Part 3 – What Can We Do: Rewriting the Social Contract

Week 2, Part 1 – What It Is: Five Freedoms, One Promise

Week 2, Part 2 – The First to Fall: How Freedom Is Being Silenced

Spread the word:
#TheSocialContract | #InGoodFaith | #ProtectTheFirst | #SC2_Friday