First Amendment

[Freedom of Religion, of Speech, & of the Press]

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 my opinion, this is one of the most important amendments. These five freedoms - religion, speech, the press, assembly, and the right to petition the government - is the basic premise of our country. We're the "Land of the Free" because of these basic rights granted to us in this amendment. Additionally, I strongly believe that this is one of the most taken-for-granted rights, which us Americans are so lucky to have. There are so many people around the world who's countries do not allow them any of these basic rights. Take this blog assignment, for example. Many people might not be very keen on the idea; but what if they were a student in, say, Saudi Arabia? They would not have the opportunity to publicly express their opinion about the government. Especially as an assignment from an instructor, such as this blog. The cartoon to the left seems to be a perfect example of this. As generations come and go, they see these rights in different ways. And as the 3rd picture shows, the majority of this generation could care less.

These people are using their First Amendment right to protest. They do not agree with the way our country is spending money. The man's sign clearly shows that he believes in order to get out of debt, our government needs to cut spending. Once again, many countries would punish their citizens for a public protest such as this. Yet nothing will happen to this man for his protest because he is protected by the First Amendment. 

Although burning the American flag, the Bible, and the Koran is quite extreme, it is an excellent example of the rights granted to us in this amendment. In many countries this man would be seriously persecuted for doing something as disrespectful as burning his country's flag. Yet here, in the USA, he will suffer no repercussions whatsoever.