Americans And The First Amendment

Our Constitution is the document on which our laws are based. While other countries base their laws on a religion or the whims of an absolute ruler, our nation's founders enshrined this country's rules in a written document -- a document that can't be violated even by the government and which can be changed only with the consent of the people.

But when the Constitution was approved it was lacking something. It was incomplete. While it laid down the framework for our laws and system of government, it did not insure the freedom of the people in this country. That's why it was almost immediately realized that it needed to be amended. To assure the freedom of the people of America the states ratified ten amendments. Perhaps the most important of these amendments is the first one. The First amendment assures the most basic and the most necessary requirements of a free society -- freedom of religion, freedom of speech, freedom of the press, the right to peaceably assemble, and the right to petition the government.

These rights are so important that every American should know the First Amendment -- if not word for word, they should at least be able to name the five rights guaranteed in it. Unfortunately, far too many Americans can't name those five rights. The First Amendment Center (with the help of The Pert Group) did a survey of 1,006 American adults in June of 2011. What they found was not encouraging:

30% couldn't name any of the five rights in the First Amendment.

62% could name the right of free speech.

19% could name the right to religious freedom.

17% could name the right to a free press.

14% could name the right to assemble.

3% could name the right to petition the government.

That's pretty sad. And it helps to explain how the right-wing fundamentalists can get away with misrepresenting the rights we have. A people who can't name the rights they have can easily have those rights taken away. And that's exactly what the religious right wants to do -- take away the rights of anyone who doesn't agree with them. They have invested a lot of time, money, and effort into trying to convince people that the Constitution guarantees only the right to be christian (and not to believe in another religion or no religion at all). They want people to believe this nation was founded as a christian nation, and the government should be following biblical principles (whether constitutional or not).

Fortunately for those of us who believe in freedom most people in America do believe in the First Amendment freedoms, even if they can't name them as being enumerated in the First Amendment. A large majority are not buying into the lies of the religious right-wing. Consider the following question from the survey:

Does the First Amendment require a clear separation of church and state?
Strongly agree...............48%
Mildly agree................19%
Mildly disagree...............11%
Strongly disagree...............17%
Total agree...............67%
Total disagree...............28%

Does freedom of religion apply to all groups, regardless of how extreme their views are?
Applies to all groups...............67%
Does not apply to all groups...............22%
Don't know...............10%

The religious right-wing may shout louder than others, but that shouting is hollow and is not convincing the majority of Americans. This is a good thing, because the religious right-wing doesn't seem to understand a fundamental truth about freedom -- if freedom can be denied to any group then it can (and probably will) be denied to any other group. Freedom is an all or nothing kind of thing.

Here are some other things the survey revealed:

Should the Constitution be amended to make it illegal to burn or desecrate the American flag as a method of protest?
Yes...............39%
No...............58%

Should broadcasters be allowed to televise the U.S. Supreme Court?
Yes...............78%
No...............19%

Should journalists be allowed to keep a source confidential?
Yes...............75%
No...............23%

Should schools be allowed to discipline students for posting "offensive" material on their personal computer at home?
Yes...............35%
No...............62%

Should the news media act as a watchdog on government?
Yes...............76%
No...............21%

I would feel a lot better if the American people could name the five freedoms in the First Amendment when asked, but the above numbers are not really so bad. Maybe we're not in as much trouble as some think.