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Homework answers / question archive / Chapter 4 The Meaning of the First Amendment First Amendment freedoms are most in danger when the government seeks to control thought or to justify its laws for that impermissible end
Chapter 4 The Meaning of the First Amendment First Amendment freedoms are most in danger when the government seeks to control thought or to justify its laws for that impermissible end. The right to think is the beginning of freedom, and speech must be protected from the government be- cause speech is the beginning of thought. - Justice Anthony Kennedy The First Amendment's promise of freedom of speech and of the press is a treasured element of the American heritage of every citizen, even if many don't understand what this liberty really means. People are often quick to beat their chests about their First Amendment rights - (“I can say what I Page 82 of 672 13% want,” or “Haven't you ever heard of the First Amendment, Bozo?")—even though surveys show most Americans don't know what they are talking about. The First Amendment does not protect col- lege football coaches who spout off to the media about the quality of the refereeing; the conference commissioner will probably levy a hefty fine. The First Amendment does not stop your fast food restaurant manager from sending you home for the day with- out pay because you wore a T-shirt with the name of your favorite rock band on it. The First Amendment does not protect pro- testers who are arrested when they refuse to leave the office of the university president where they sat down to make known their opposition to the campus policy on alcohol use. Despite how wonderfully Americans envi- sion their guarantee of free expression and boast of its protective qualities, most of them have false ideas about what it actually means. The Newseum's First Amendment Center annually conducts a survey of Americans' attitudes toward this guarantee of rights. Page 82 of 672 13% The 2016 final survey found most people know little about what the First Amend- ment promises. Of the five specific freedoms in the First Amendment-speech, press, re- ligion, the right to assemble, and the right to petition-57 percent of Americans could name freedom of speech, 17 percent could identify the freedom of religion, 11 percent mentioned the freedom of the press, 12 per- cent named the right to assemble, and 2 percent pointed to the right to petition. Most alarming, 39 percent—more than one-third of those surveyed—could name not one sin- gle right guaranteed by the First Amend- ment. Fifty percent of those surveyed who do not have a college degree and 27 percent of those who do could not name a single right guaranteed by the First Amendment.2 During a 2010 U.S. Senate campaign debate, Chris Coons, who had graduated from the prestigious Yale Law School, could not name all five rights guaranteed in the First Amend- ment, but voters in Delaware elected him to represent them anyway.3 The First Amendment bestows extensive liberties upon the citizens of the United States: liberty to express their opinions and Page 82 of 672 13% liberty enabling the media to report on the activities of government and prominent in- dividuals. This freedom, probably more than any other right guaranteed in the Constitu- tion, symbolizes the American commitment to liberty under law by imposing a seem- ingly insurmountable obstacle to govern- ment censorship of ideas, particularly those that are critical of that same government.4 No right is more fundamental in a democ- racy than freedom of expression; if citizens are not free to express their opinions and criticize their governors and governments and if journalists are not free to publish the news of the day, other rights lose their sig- nificance. One commentator has called free- dom of expression the "virtual linchpin of our constitutional culture."5 Many of the other personal liberties so prized by Americans would be hollow -or even meaningless-without the First Amendment. Freedom of expression ensures not only that citizens will be able to question the decisions of their governors but that also will be able to speak out if they believe their rights are being diminished. Supreme Court Justice Benjamin Cardozo wrote that free- Page 82 of 672 13% dom of speech and thought “is the matrix, the indispensable condition, of nearly every other form of freedom.”6 What is so difficult for many Americans to grasp is that the freedom they treasure as part of their heritage not only protects them from government censorship, but it also protects the expression of people whose views diametrically oppose their own. The First Amendment was intended to ensure that the minority will be permitted to speak, even when the message is unwelcome to the majority. The First Amendment was not re- quired to protect the free speech rights of the majority; it was needed to protect the liberty of the minority to speak ideas that are not popular. Justice Louis Brandeis summed it up this way, “Recognizing the occasional tyr- annies of governing majorities, (those who won our freedom) amended the Constitution so that free speech and assembly should be guaranteed.”? Just 45 Words But So Much Meaning Page 83 of 672 13%
I think the first amendment should be interpreted in terms of the ability to criticize the government. America's founding fathers were devoted to ensuring that the government did not use its powers to limit the very people it represents. Therefore, these powers were curtailed by giving the citizens the ability to inquire and understand what the government is doing and reporting it according. This gives the media a strong overview of the government. Society is notified of every decision that the government makes on behalf of those it is devoted to serving. On the other hand, the first amendment displays democracy and serves as a pivotal aspect of this democracy. It offers the ability to criticize the government and question every decision it makes.
Another perspective of the first amendment interpretation is giving the citizens the ability to speak up if they feel that their rights are being disregarded. This is yet another significant aspect of the first amendment in offering democracy. It allows individuals and single entities to seek fairness and justice by speaking against acts disregarding their rights. As such, the first amendment can therefore be said to be a protection of other laws. For instance, individuals have a right to speak against the killing of the innocent or passing a law that could result in the violation of another law. since speaking up against such acts is facilitated by the first amendment, it, therefore, shows that the first amendment guards the civil liberties. The ability to express an opinion and speak one's mind is a critical aspect of the first amendment central to American democracy.
