Amendment I
Text:
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.
Background info:
(Ratified December 15, 1791 as a part of the “Bill of Rights”)
The amendment was written three months after the creation of the Constitution because citizens demanded a guarantee of their basic rights. The amendment was written by James Madison and went into effect after Virginia ratified it and the majority of states in the country agreed.
Effect:
The first amendment allows us to publicly criticize the government and not get arrested for it. It allows us to make loud jokes on the street about Tom Corbett and how he’s ruining our education system. In addition to this, we can participate in rallies and marches to support education and to prevent budgets cuts from the school (and sign petitions against the budget cuts for the school district). We are allowed to assemble outside the School District building and play patriotic music in order to appeal to the sympathies of higher authority (our instruments are terrible, please give us more money).
The first amendment helps support separation of church and state. It prevents polarized religious belief from ruling over people of other religions. For example, there are several states, including Arkansas and Mississippi, that ban atheists from holding office. As atheists, we feel fundamentally oppressed.
We do acknowledge the downsides to the exploitations of such freedoms mentioned in this amendments. Enforcing the freedom of speech and press is disadvantageous to gullible people who read tabloids and blindly follow the media. Truth can be misrepresented and malicious propaganda can be utilized to start revolutions. However, the freedoms allowed are vital to the creation of a free country. We are vehemently against censorship, and a more strict enforcement of this law would help prevent misrepresentation and brainwashing.
Freedom of speech does have its downsides, especially when it is used against us... I always feel nervous about our faith-based partnerships in the school districts because I feel that they somewhat conflict with the First Amendment...do you feel that these types of partnerships (with churches, synagogues, etc) affect you in any way?
ReplyDeleteI believe that there are certainly boundaries between faith-based partnerships with public schools, but I do not see any immediate problems that could occur, assuming that the people running these programs recognize that all of their participants may not follow that faith. It should be no problem to have these partnerships as long as the faith is not put upon children who do not follow or wish to follow that faith. Though suspicion is reasonable, we should be able to put our faith into these programs that they were made for the good of the children.
DeleteYerp, the First amendment is the most powerful, and therefore the most dangerous. I agree that there can be a level of corruption achieved, but on the same token, a need to be aware that the First Amendment carries risks is something that needs to be emphasized. The idea needs to be voiced that the First Amendment means that anyone can say ANYTHING they want, the truth, half of it, or something not even close.
ReplyDelete