On the recordJune 22, 2020
I so enjoyed listening to the comments of my colleague from Texas, and it causes me to think that, yes, we are moving forward with another week, and what we have to realize is that, indeed, our Nation was built on free speech and the premise to have dissent or robust, respectful political debate. That is something that keeps our Nation strong. To go back and look at the work of our Founders, there was barely a day that went by that they were not having that robust debate, that they were not having those arguments that were really constructive conversations that would say: We are here; how do we go here? That is how you solve problems. Indeed, that is what Tennesseans are telling me every day that they want us to do: Solve these problems. Let's get ourselves on the right track When you look at it and go back and look at the Founders, you see that the debates they had were not superficial. They were not necessarily the bright, shiny object story of the day. They were deep, philosophical debates on issues that were about the future of the Nation they were trying to build. Everything was on the line, and no one kept quiet. They felt as if their opinions were important, and indeed, today, there is a lot on the line when we talk about civility and when we talk about the strength, the core, and the preservation of our rights and our freedoms. Nobody spared anyone's feelings at that point because the stakes were too high and they were focused on freedom.…
