The 1st Amendment to the Constitution states, “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.” What would happen to those precious rights if the growing demands of the current culture of offense reached their ultimate conclusion? What would it cost you to speak the truth? Could it land you in jail? Could it cost you your job, your family, your freedom… your life? That is the premise of Bray’s intriguing new novel, The Five Barred Gate.
“Our individual freedoms are being stripped away, one by one. It is a sign of the times,” Bray said. “I began to ponder what would happen if the so-called “Non-Offensive Movement” in the United States ever became federal law. Could the 1st Amendment be circumvented, or even repealed? I wanted to capture the reality of our current culture and add a What if factor to it. What if it became illegal to offend someone? Since everyone seems to be offended by something, it is not far-fetched to think that there could eventually be laws that prohibit someone from making an offensive remark. Since offense is subjective, it is all in the eyes and ears of the offended, the law takes on the quality of the Salem witch trials, where the only evidence needed is the word of the offended person. As Arthur Miller so eloquently wrote, I saw Goody Nurse with the devil!”
The Five Barred Gate serves as a wake-up call to both people of faith and to all others who would stand with Patrick Henry and say, “I may not agree with what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it.”
