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The Fourth Wall
page 3
Editorial:
Understanding
the First
Amendment
Travis Johnson
Campaigning to win the office
ofthe United States President for
the second time, Theodore
Roosevelt stated, “Free speech,
exercised both individually and
through a free press, is a
necessity in any country where
people are themselves free.” As
Americans, we are members of
a free society and these
freedoms, along with the
freedom of religion and the
freedom to assemble and
petition the government, are
guaranteed to us by the First
Amendment of the Constitution
“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.” But you already
knew that. Right?
While most young
Americans are aware of their
freedoms, they are unsure of the
specifics and how they are
guaranteed. Such is the case with
the confusion surrounding the
First Amendment. In asking
students around campus what
the First Amendment means to
them, I got varying answers. The
majority answered the same or
similar. “The First Amendment?
Isn’t that the freedom of
speech?” I counted that as a
legitimate answer as not
everyone will remember the
exact text. So yes, the majority
at least has a somewhat (if only
vague) sense of the original
Amendment to the Constitution
and they agree that these
freedoms characterize us as a
free people — Americans. But
what happens when I tell you
that flag burning is protected by
the same Amendment?
Sure enough, setting old glory
ablaze, racist organizations,
satanic religion, cults, and
certain four letter words such as
- (am I being censored yet?) are
all protected by the First
Amendment. How much has
your opinion changed? Mine
hasn’t. The First Amendment
has drawn much controversy, not
by what it guarantees, but by
those who attempt to create
loopholes or spin its meaning.
Organizations such as the Ku
Klux Klan for example do have
a right to speak freely. When
their hateful words turn into
hateful action, however, they are
committing crimes and are then
held accountable by -the law.
Nowhere does the First
Amendment describe a
“freedom of action without
consequences.” Maybe this is
where some Americans get
confused.
During a discussion on the
constitutionality of flag burning
in Political Science 001 just last
month, the majority of my
classmates described flag
burning as “unconstitutional”
and expressed their desire for an
Amendment to the Constitution
that would illegalize the practice.
In truth, there has never been
any type of legislation that makes
flag burning illegal, or the flag
burner a criminal. Oftentimes,
the flag is burned in protest.
Outlawing flag burning would be
taking away an outlet that
Americans use to petition the
government and this would be a
violation of our rights.
These opinions are
frightening and in the long run
dangerous to our freedoms.
Indeed flag burning infuriates
University
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most Americans, myself
included. However, if we were
to call for Amendments for
everything that angered us,
America would be no better than
a Totalitarian nation, with the
angry majority holding the
power.
The First Amendment is the
cornerstone of American life.
No other nation enjoys the same
freedoms in the ways that we do.
As a proprietor of these
freedoms, it is an American’s
duty to accept and support the
First Amendment and recognize
the opinions of those who
disagree with our own as that
person’s freedom of speech or
religion. After all, if you
disagree, protest! Utilize your
right to peaceably assemble. As
a writer for The Fourth Wall, I've
just relied on the freedom of the
press. These freedoms we use
every day are guaranteed by the
First Amendment and should
never be trodden upon. I agree
with former President
Roosevelt; the rest of America
should too.