“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.”
The Bill of Rights is slowly fading as a relevant document
in our society. The five freedoms explained in the First Amendment ensure that the
United States is able to remain free from corruption.
1. The Freedom of Religion
Not only does the First Amendment protect the Freedom of Religion,
but it also protects the separation of church and state. This means that if the
First Amendment is repealed, religion could potentially take over as the driving
political force of the United States.
Thomas Jefferson explained, “religion is a matter which lies
solely between Man & his God, that he owes account to none other for his
faith or his worship, that the legitimate powers of government reach actions
only, & not opinions, I contemplate with sovereign reverence that act of the
whole American people which declared that their legislature should "make
no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free
exercise thereof," thus building a wall of separation between Church &
State.” The separation of church and state helps the government and churches to
remain free of corruption. John Locke warned about the potential for corruption
when he wrote, “Let them not supply their want of reasons with the instruments
of force, which belong to another jurisdiction, and do ill become a churchman’s
hands. Let them not call in the magistrate’s authority to the aid of their
eloquence, or learning; lest perhaps, whilst they pretend only love for the
truth, this their intemperate zeal, breathing nothing but fire and sword,
betray their ambition, and show that what they desire is temporal dominion.”
Just as government should remain out of business, government
should stay out of religious matters such as worship, and marriage.
2. The Freedom of Speech
Most people who live in democratic societies believe that
free speech is a basic human right. The freedom of speech dates back to Ancient
Greece; it became a fundamental part of the democracy of Athens. “Leaders,
philosophers, playwrights and everyday Athenians were free to openly discuss
politics and religion…”. The only speech that is not protected by the First
Amendment is child pornography, true threats, defamation, and plagiarism of
copyrighted material.
The Freedom of Speech is fundamental to the development of
society. Historically, free speech has been used as an avenue for change. Free
speech essentially created America. Everything from the Declaration of
Independence to women’s voting rights and child labor laws were created because
people saw a need for change and spoke freely.
Censorship of speech is common in America today. Peter
Tatchell explained, “Free speech does not mean giving bigots a free pass. It
includes the right and moral imperative to challenge, oppose and protest
bigoted views.” Naturally, bad or immoral ideas will be defeated by good ones.
The ability for a society to freely exchange ideas is fundamental to democratic
society.
3. The Freedom of the Press
The Freedom of the Press ensures that opinions can be freely
exchanged without government censorship or fear of punishment for sharing an
unpopular idea.
In the 1964 landmark Freedom of the Press case, New York
Times v. Sullivan, the Court held that the First Amendment protects all
statements, even false ones (except statements made with malice). This may seem
contradictory—why would false information be protected? Just as with the
Freedom of Speech, naturally, false information will be defeated by the facts. Once
the information that the press releases is censored, where does it stop?
Jefferson explained the importance of having a free press
when he said, “The people are the only censors of their governors: and even
their errors will tend to keep these to the true principles of their
institution. The basis of our governments being the opinion of the people, the
very first object should be to keep that right; and were it left to me to
decide whether we should have a government without newspapers or newspapers
without a government, I should not hesitate a moment to prefer the latter. But
I should mean that every man should receive those papers & be capable of
reading them.” Here is Jefferson—a man who was hated by the newspapers—explaining
why having a free press is important. Freedom of the Press stifles out
corruption by exposing politicians to the public eye.
4. The Freedom of Assembly
It is no surprise that this is listed in the First Amendment
to the United States Constitution. The Freedom of Assembly is the ability to
come together to promote a common interest. The Second Continental Congress and
the Constitutional Convention was just that—people collectively coming together
to defend a common interest. The idea of the Freedom of Assembly was expressed
in the 1774 "Declaration and Resolves" that said the people
"have a right to peaceably assemble, consider of their grievances, and
petition the king." This document listed the grievances the American
people had against King George III and Parliament.
William Rawle explained, “Of this
right [Freedom of Assembly] in the abstract there cannot be a doubt. To withhold
from the injured, the privilege of complaint, and to debar the rulers from the
benefit of information that may apprize them of their errors, is mutually
unjust.” The ablity “that the people have to peaceably to assemble together to consult for
their common good, or to instruct their representatives: that every freeman has
a right to petition, or apply to the legislature, for the redress of grievances”
is a demonstration of how a free society should run.
5. The Freedom to Petition
Very closely related to the Freedom of Assembly is the Freedom
to Petition. The Freedom to Petition is “the right to present requests to the
government without punishment or reprisal.”
The actual concept of petitioning the government reaches
back to the Magna Carta in 1215. It states, “If we, our chief justice, our
officials, or any of our servants offend in any respect against any man, or
transgress any of the articles of the peace or of this security, and the offence
is made known to four of the said twenty-five barons, they shall come to us -
or in our absence from the kingdom to the chief justice—to declare it and claim
immediate redress.” The proposal of having barons petition the king if they saw
injustice was a revolutionary concept that was later seen in the English
Declaration of Rights and the United States Bill of Rights.
During the Civil Rights Movement, the Supreme Court upheld
the ability for several different groups protesting segregation in public
schools—citing the petition clause. These groups were fundamental to the ruling
of Brown v. Board of Education, thus desegregating American public schools in
1954. Many voices are always louder than one.
The First Amendment provides for a corruption free Republic.
To repeal the Bill of Rights—especially the First Amendment—would ensure captivity
for America.
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