Tuesday, December 28, 2010

Our Civil Liberties: The 1st Amendment

Strong civil liberties are what have defined the United States for over two centuries. It is this independence from the government that allows security for the citizens and protects basic human freedoms. Freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom of the press and freedom of assembly are all First Amendment rights that Americans value. The respect for these basic freedoms comes from the country’s history that has evolved just as greatly as the people in it. The U.S. has become the model of democracy around the world and has continually put its people before itself. As challenges to these core principles have made their way into the political and social landscape of the country, it has only strengthened the First Amendment. Congress and the courts in the United States have most certainly gotten better in abiding by all aspects of the First Amendment. We have gone from a nation controlled by white, land-owning men, to a nation where its’ own President, in retrospect, wouldn’t have been allowed to ride in the front of a city bus just fifty years prior.
            A most basic freedom we have as Americans is ‘freedom of speech.’ Where this freedom usually gets skewed is with regards to government and protest. However, the freedom of speech means just that – freedom to express oneself without worriment of backlash by one’s own government. With the 1990 Supreme Court case, U.S. v Eichman, the act of ‘flag burning’ became constitutionally acceptable. Prior to this ruling, the 1989 Flag Protection Act prevented flag desecration because of the statement it made about the government. While flag desecration is widely accepted as disrespectful, Americans have the basic freedom to make any statement they want about any institution.
            With regards to freedom of religion, Americans share in the luxury of being able to follow any religion they choose, if they so choose, no matter the core beliefs of the religion itself . In the 1940 case of Cantwell v Connecticut, two Jehovah’s Witnesses were publically sharing their anti-Catholic views in a vastly Catholic area. While the remarks made by the two were offensive to Catholics and displayed their own religion as intolerant of the Catholic faith, they were protected under the First and Fourteenth Amendment which gives all Americans the right to believe and preach any views they’d like.
            Freedom of the press is another First Amendment right that has given way to many challenges. In Near v Minnesota, the issue of malicious and scandalous depictions of individuals in public newspapers came under fire. However, with the ruling of 1931 by the Supreme Court, protection for newspapers and the content published in them was upheld. The fact that this case was within the last century makes it notable that these freedoms we take for granted every day are constantly being challenged.
            The right of Americans to organize peacefully and convene about any topic, no matter how obscure or offensive it may be, is another basic First Amendment right – the freedom of assembly. In 1963, with the Edwards v South Carolina Supreme Court case, it was decided that 187 black protestors were in their right to march outside a South Carolina State House. While the formal organization of these people was to protest and challenge the state government’s segregation laws, the state had no right to deny the group’s right to protest despite the direct threat the group posed towards the government. The group’s actions were supported by the Supreme Court and their interpretation of the First Amendment making this case a clear example of the government’s inability to get in the way of any assembly no matter how ideologically threatening it may be.
            With all of these cases, the common thread is the underlying First Amendment issues that are at stake. Even more concerning is that these cases are all from the 20th century which makes the First Amendment a living, breathing Amendment consistently being challenged and called into question. It is reassuring that, despite extremes in content of speech, that all Americans have the right to say what they believe and live according to that.     

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