AN OPEN LETTER TO MR. HANK WILLIAMS, JR.

from the Church of the Open Road

Dear Mr. Williams,

First, allow me to provide for you the text of the First Amendment to the United States Constitution:

“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.”

Now, taking the liberty of correcting your capitalization, I will quote you:

“By pulling my opening Oct 3rd, you (ESPN) stepped on the toes of the First Amendment Freedom of Speech, so therefore me, my song, and all my rowdy friends are out of here.”

Now, sir, today’s lesson – something I believe you may have missed in the eighth grade:

The First Amendment does not preclude an employer from releasing a worker (or severing a contractual relationship) because the worker said something offensive, derogatory or really stupid. The government of the United States cannot prevent you from saying whatever’s on your mind, but your employer doesn’t have to put up with it.

In the United States, the entity responsible for limiting the speech of an individual is the individual. You chose not to.


Sincerely,


The Church of the Open Road


PS: To those self-described “constitutionalists” out there who may be looking over Junior’s shoulder at this letter, kindly read the Constitution before telling the rest of us what you think it says.

Thank you.