Time for a Return to Personal Responsiblity

We are at a crossroads in this country as we explore our Constitutional Rights. Every citizen has the right to freedom of speech guaranteed by our founding documents. Having said that, there truly are exceptions to that right. If one’s freedom of expression threatens harm to anyone or group it may be restricted. Many have heard the saying that Freedom of Speech doesn’t allow the speaker to yell out “FIRE” in a crowed theater. Why? Because doing so could cause a panic where people could be trampled in the process of trying to exit.

Unfortunately, much like common sense, personal responsibility is a rare commodity in today’s world. Personal responsibility includes thinking before one speaks. Many times people make accusations of others which may encourage them directly or indirectly by wrongly identifying a person or group as something they are clearly not, in truth. Examples of where this has caused actions by recipients of the accusations are numerous and unfortunate.

One such example was on September 10, 2025, when a young man in Utah shot another young man who was simply having an innocent dialog with young college students. I’m talking about Charlie Kirk. The apprehended accused killer stated that he disliked Kirk because of what many others had said about him and his beliefs. Every one of those whose speech influenced the killer bears some responsibility for the assassination of Kirk! Take personal responsibility for everything you utter, and think about what it might incite.

Dave Glomp is a Constitutional Scholar, longtime Madison Native, and former broadcast journalist.