Does that headline surprise you? You will see that violation on display at every local government meeting inside Fayette County, every month.

No telling what goes on in other places as elected officials routinely tell citizens attending public meetings what those citizens may and may not talk about to those officials, every one of whom was voted into public office by those very citizens.

I heard it most recently on tape from that clueless Fayette County Board of Commissioners. Already under fire from animal advocates over a $3.2 million animal shelter boondoggle, Commission Chairman Lee Hearn warned an overflow crowd that he would not tolerate any criticism of county employees concerning the botched new animal shelter.

During every public meeting, the Fayette County Board of Education reminds its bosses — the public — who is the real boss: “Remarks should not be addressed to individual board members. Speakers are asked to keep their remarks civil. The use of obscene, profane, vulgar, physically threatening, or abusive remarks will not be allowed. The Board will not permit anyone to become personally abusive to an individual student, board members, board employees, or other speakers. The board will take comments and questions under advisement and responses, if needed, will be provided by the Superintendent.”

Got it? These demigods of education will allow only nice remarks, which they will not respond to or even acknowledge. As a member of the public, you might as well speak your piece into an audio recorder and mail that recording to the board office. You’ll never hear anything from that either.

Maybe a better way would be to put your complaint in a few words on a sign and march around the road in front of the system office. Then we would at least see your name on an arrest report.

The Fayetteville City Council — in my hearing — has likewise warned the public — their bosses — that they will rule out of order and have removed from the meeting room by an armed, uniformed police officer any public speaker who criticizes by name or position any employee of the city. Don’t resist, or you’ll go to jail.

The Peachtree City Council has by official policy forbidden any lowly member of the public from speaking about anything on that day’s public agenda. You can speak about other issues, so long as those issues are not being discussed by the council at that meeting.

Unless it’s an agenda item that by law must include a “public hearing,” the council may or may not allow any public speakers to have their say on other regular agenda items.

You get the drift? The elected officials officially want as little public meeting input as they can legally get away with.

“We would never get anything done if everybody could just talk about anything they wanted to in our meetings,” says my typical elected official. “We can’t have our meetings become complaint sessions from the public,” says my typical elected official #2.

Well, yes, you can and yes, you should. Most of our public officials show up for two official meetings a month. Public officials, bring your seat cushions and your water bottles and prepare to shut up and listen awhile to the people who elected you to your exalted positions.

I contend that’s exactly what you were elected to do. It is your highest duty. And who do you think you are that you can tell a member of the public what he/she can or cannot talk about in a public meeting? We elect regular people to office to listen to us, not to rule as a medieval king would.

That brings me to a second part of that routinely ignored First Amendment: “the right of the people … to petition the government for a redress of grievances.”

What better place to speak frankly to government officials elected by you than at their public meeting while they are deciding on what new rules they are about to impose on you?

That is exactly why that meeting has to be public: They are forbidden by law from creating new rules on you while in secret meetings.

OK, after covering and reporting on public officials over a span of 54 years, I have observed a few things about public officials who have been in office two years or more:

1. Most elected officials (not all, but most) don’t want to hear what Joe Public has to say. Most (not all) think that what you have to say comes from a place of ignorance, a lack of understanding of “how things really work,” or conflicts with what those public officials deeply believe is best for you, whether you believe in that “best” or not.

2. Most elected officials (not all) have their agenda, and only a few close friends/supporters actually know what that full agenda really is. Most of the voting public realize after about two years that this official didn’t tell them some important facts that often don’t line up with what the voters thought that official was really about. At that point the newly educated voter comes to a decision point about whether to keep supporting or to oppose this official.

3. Most elected officials (in the high 90-percentile range) will lie at some point about something in the realm of public policy that’s really important to them but that they know will not go over well with the majority of the voting public.

4. Most public officials (maybe close to 99%) don’t want to give up the power of their positions. Absent term limits, they would keep on seeking to keep their positions. This power-seeking has nothing to do with honorable service or high aspirations or even duty. It’s just plain old lust for power.

Call me cynical, call me a realist, call me old and crotchety. After 54 years of seeing it up close, I’m calling it like I’ve seen it.

Those four points above are why elected public officials — for the public good — have to be subject to complaining citizens using their freedom of speech to seek redress of grievances.

And it’s why those local government public officials are morally and constitutionally wrong to tell the voting, taxpaying public what they can and can’t talk about at public meetings. Voters and taxpayers, start standing up for your constitutional rights.

[Cal Beverly has been editor and publisher of The Citizen since 1993. He covered his first city and government meetings in 1970.]