First Amendment Rights
On June 21, 1788 Congress ratified the US constitution. This historic document contained the powers that congress would have under this democratic government. The first amendment specifically details several powers that would be excluded from this list. The first amendment states "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." In other words, this amendment gave any citizen of the United States the right to free speech, freedom to practice any religion they choose without fear of persecution, the right to freedom of the press, the right to peaceful assembly, and the right to petition for a change in government. No where in the constitution does it say these rights only apply outside institutions. Yet, in our society today many types of institutions directly violate our first amendment rights without any penalty. One of the more obvious of these institutions are schools. Many of the schools are even funded by the government. In school, if a student utters anything that a teacher could perceive as bei
I feel another element of the first amendment is being violated in school. When students enroll in a public school, they enroll knowing they will not be forced to worship any religion. This is because public schools are funded by the government and there must be a separation of church and state. Although recently I believe this has gone too far. A public school guarantees that a student will not be FORCED to worship or pray. Nowhere does it say that a student cannot worship or pray by his or herself. I have read many newspaper articles about a student or a teacher at a local public school who was punished because they displayed some sort of religion. This public school is a government institution and it is violating its members' rights. A public school is supposed to offer freedom to choose what religion to worship. It is not supposed to be an area of the complete lack of religion. Freedom of speech and of the press are not the only first amendment rights that are being violated. The right to peaceful assembly has been violated often. The past decade has been a time of enhanced sense of duty. More and more people are standing up for events they find to be unjust. They voice their opinions through demonstrations. If this happens in a public place they can be arrested. One of the more famous examples of this is the Kent State University incident. Many students gathered to protest the United States involvement in the Vietnam war. They were doing nothing violent in any sense of the word. The national guard gave the order for the students to disperse. When the students refused, the guards responded with tear gas. The wind altered the path of the gas. The guards changed formations causing the students to retreat. Then the guard began thirteen seconds of gunfire that killed four, paralyzed one, and wounded eight others. This whole tragedy could have been avoided if the demonstrators had been allowed their first amendment rights. Another area of society in which first amendment rights are being violated lie in censorship. Recently, several musicians have come under fire for the content that in their lyrics. Activists have lobbied congress to pass censorship laws that would either, censor this material, or complet
Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 1519
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page double spaced)
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