Somewhere along the line, racism became the most heinous crime in America, in many instances overtaking the obviously more repugnant transgressions, such as murder or assault. Interestingly, racism in and of itself is neither a crime nor an issue that is worth pursuing.

Under the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, the American people have the inalienable right to express beliefs and ideas without unwarranted government restriction. The exception to the freedom of speech rule centers on the protection of the greater good. In this context, “fighting words,” calls for government overthrow, and obscenity are speech that do not receive First Amendment protections.

Neither the U.S. Constitution nor the Bill of Rights impose morality or validity clauses on the ideas expressed through the practice of the First Amendment. In other words, mere content offensiveness does not warrant restriction of freedom of speech.

What the mainstream media fails to see regarding President Trump’s initial comments about the horrific violence at Charlottesville occurring on “many sides” is that it wasn’t referencing the murder of Heather Heyer. That was a cowardly act committed by a deranged neo-Nazi, which the entire world condemns. Rather, Trump’s “many sides” comment references extremists across the political spectrum.

The President cannot honestly single out white supremacists and nationalists for Charlottesville. They petitioned the authorities prior to marching, and thus, they had the right to peaceful assembly — which is also protected under the First Amendment — after their petition was granted.

It is the far-left counter-protestors, such as the notorious antifa thugs, that did not abide by the proper legal channels. Instead, they showed up to deliberately antagonize the far-right groups. In this situation, neither side has the upper moral ground. Nevertheless, as an expression of their civil rights, white nationalist voices must be allowed to protest and present their perspective, no matter how vile it may be to the general public.

Whether we like it or not, we are a nation of laws. We’re also a nation that thrives on the diversity of ideas, not just of people. Consensus has never been an end goal of the Founding Fathers. To impose consensus by any means necessary is a direct affront to the U.S. Constitution and the very notion of inalienable civil rights.

As a racial minority in America, I find white supremacy offensive. But let’s not kid ourselves — racism is not an exclusive construct of whites. Indeed, I could make the argument that American whites are the least racist people on Earth. No other racial group on this planet has imparted laws, policies, and social mores that benefitted minorities at the expense of the majority.

To me, and the Silent Majority that is wide-awake to this global deception, the real enemy is suppression. Racist speech is offensive, but mere offensiveness does not invoke a special exemption to the First Amendment.

Furthermore, who defines racism? Antifa and the alt-left’s biggest threat is that violence ironically determines social mores. Through various threats and brutal acts, the extreme left delivers justice on who they view as racists. The end result is that we are treated to a one-sided, biased perspective of racism while ignoring the blight of non-white racism.

This is what Trump meant by “many sides.” He hesitated not because he sympathizes with white nationalists. Rather, he’s one of the few powerful people that understands that free speech does not always mean socially-acceptable speech. In fact, some of the most powerful ideas gained traction because they conflicted with the accepted norm.

If the First Amendment fails to protect speech deemed offensive, we may as well throw away all of our civil rights. Without the freedom to express individual ideas and concepts, we are nothing more than slaves.