I love Greenfield and have always rejoiced in the spirit of freedom and diversity that seems to be such a powerful part of our community. That is, until I saw the front page of the Recorder on July 5 with the coverage of the “Two Celebrations” for Independence Day.
One group simply invited a number of people, including the mayor, to read the Declaration of Independence. But it seems that, sadly, there are people in our community who not only do not believe in free speech, but will deny anyone to speak with whom they disagree.
I did not know that free speech was limited only to those who agree with me. But so it seems was the case on the Greenfield Common. Not only did they object to one person, with whom they disagreed, and who actually wasn’t even there, but they actively interfered with the free speech of those who were simply reading the Declaration of Independence!
It seems that censorship is alive and well in Greenfield.
The icing on the cake is that this group held its own program and protest against the group on the Common nearby. I have no idea what opinions the group was protesting and that isn’t even important. What is important is that they were placing limits on free speech and diversity in my community. On Independence Day, no less. Shame!
Christina J. Fischer
Greenfield