The Priceless Value of First Amendment Rights
Before this year, I couldn’t have told you what the First Amendment includes except for the freedom of speech. Unfortunately, several people know just as little if not less about their First Amendment rights. The First Amendment is not only the freedom of speech, but also religion, assembly, petition, and press. These rights are arguably the most important rights granted to the American people; they have allowed Henry David Thoreau to deliver “Civil Disobedience,” Martin Luther King Jr. to share his dreams, and Cesar Chávez to advocate for fair working conditions. The preservation of the First Amendment is critical because the rights entitled to the American people must not be altered or lost altogether.
What one extremely controversial act allows, however, is the tapping of phones and tracing of records by government officials, which prevents people from speaking their opinions without having to worry about becoming suspected terrorist. An article by Heritage.com had claimed that as of 2003, 42 terrorist attacks had been thwarted thanks to the Patriot Act. These “thwartings” had no connection with the Patriot Act whatsoever; one of the most blatant examples was the case of the Christmas Day Bomber, when Umar Adulmutallab unsuccessfully tried to detonate a bomb that had been hidden in his underpants. Passengers prevented him from attempting to detonate the bomb another time, and he was handed over to authorities when the plane landed. Obviously, the authorities had no idea he was going to try and blow up the plane; otherwise, they wouldn’t have let him get past security. If the Christmas Day Bomber is the strongest example of the Patriot Act benefitting the American People, not only is the act unconstitutional, it’s not worth the sacrifice of our 1st Amendment rights (Post 1, 9/12/12). If people aren’t aware of their rights, more acts like the Patriot Act could be passed, infringing upon privacy and our personal liberties, until we completely lost sight of our ideals.
One of the most beautiful things allowed by the Constitution is that we can use our First Amendment rights to call negative attention to those who have used their rights irresponsibly. For example, the American Freedom Defense Initiative (AFDI) put an ad in New York City trains that stated, “In any war between the civilized man and the savage, support the civilized man,” with the phrase, “Support Israel. Defeat Jihad” between two Stars of David. Not only is this an irresponsible usage of First Amendment rights, but also an incredibly brazen example of racism. Firing right back, however, the council on American-Islamic Relations was able to expose the truth of the AFDI’s advertisement, craftily stating, “It’s perfectly legal to be a bigot and a racist, but we want to make sure there’s a counter-voice.” (Post 2, 9/18/12) This statement masterfully exposed the AFDI’s faults as racists, while also advocating for equality and respect towards other religions and cultures. Although it is unfortunate that we live in a nation with so many unjust and discriminatory people, they are what remind us of our rights as a nation, with which we can use to publicly denounce them. Our First Amendment rights have been abused, but the abusers are what remind us that we can utilize our rights in a just and meaningful way.
After looking at several examples of the utilization of First Amendment rights, I’ve become aware of how much our nation has evolved in regard to these laws. Our Fist Amendment rights are priceless liberties entitled to the American people, and must be preserved at all costs. Although there is no doubt that these rights will at times be misused, there is a guarantee that these rights will allow America to maintain her ideals based around life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
What one extremely controversial act allows, however, is the tapping of phones and tracing of records by government officials, which prevents people from speaking their opinions without having to worry about becoming suspected terrorist. An article by Heritage.com had claimed that as of 2003, 42 terrorist attacks had been thwarted thanks to the Patriot Act. These “thwartings” had no connection with the Patriot Act whatsoever; one of the most blatant examples was the case of the Christmas Day Bomber, when Umar Adulmutallab unsuccessfully tried to detonate a bomb that had been hidden in his underpants. Passengers prevented him from attempting to detonate the bomb another time, and he was handed over to authorities when the plane landed. Obviously, the authorities had no idea he was going to try and blow up the plane; otherwise, they wouldn’t have let him get past security. If the Christmas Day Bomber is the strongest example of the Patriot Act benefitting the American People, not only is the act unconstitutional, it’s not worth the sacrifice of our 1st Amendment rights (Post 1, 9/12/12). If people aren’t aware of their rights, more acts like the Patriot Act could be passed, infringing upon privacy and our personal liberties, until we completely lost sight of our ideals.
One of the most beautiful things allowed by the Constitution is that we can use our First Amendment rights to call negative attention to those who have used their rights irresponsibly. For example, the American Freedom Defense Initiative (AFDI) put an ad in New York City trains that stated, “In any war between the civilized man and the savage, support the civilized man,” with the phrase, “Support Israel. Defeat Jihad” between two Stars of David. Not only is this an irresponsible usage of First Amendment rights, but also an incredibly brazen example of racism. Firing right back, however, the council on American-Islamic Relations was able to expose the truth of the AFDI’s advertisement, craftily stating, “It’s perfectly legal to be a bigot and a racist, but we want to make sure there’s a counter-voice.” (Post 2, 9/18/12) This statement masterfully exposed the AFDI’s faults as racists, while also advocating for equality and respect towards other religions and cultures. Although it is unfortunate that we live in a nation with so many unjust and discriminatory people, they are what remind us of our rights as a nation, with which we can use to publicly denounce them. Our First Amendment rights have been abused, but the abusers are what remind us that we can utilize our rights in a just and meaningful way.
After looking at several examples of the utilization of First Amendment rights, I’ve become aware of how much our nation has evolved in regard to these laws. Our Fist Amendment rights are priceless liberties entitled to the American people, and must be preserved at all costs. Although there is no doubt that these rights will at times be misused, there is a guarantee that these rights will allow America to maintain her ideals based around life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.