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Today Our Constitution And Way of Life
We Are Under Attack - What Do We Do?

Is it time for us to investigate the very people who are supposed to be protecting us and our country?
Why are certain senators going after the president for protecting the Constitution of the United States?
What do these politicians hope to gain by striking down the very first amendment to our Constitution?
What is their motive for speaking out so strongly in opposition to the very way of life guaranteed by the Constitution?

What Exactly Does the First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States Say?

Read And Comment -


About the First Amendment

By Brian J. Buchanan
First Amendment Center Online managing editor

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 First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution

The First Amendment was written because at America's inception, citizens demanded a guarantee of their basic freedoms.

Our blueprint for personal freedom and the hallmark of an open society, the First Amendment protects freedom of speech, press, religion, assembly and petition.

Without the First Amendment, religious minorities could be persecuted, the government might well establish a national religion, protesters could be silenced, the press could not criticize government, and citizens could not mobilize for social change.

When the U.S. Consdtitution was signed on Sept. 17, 1787, it did not contain the essential freedoms now outlined in the Bill of Rights, because many of the Framers viewed their inclusion as unnecessary. However, after vigorous debate, the Bill of Rights was adopted. The first freedoms guaranteed in this historic document were articulated in the 45 words written by James Madison that we have come to know as the First Amendment.

The Bill of Rights — the first 10 amendments to the Constitution — went into effect on Dec. 15, 1791, when the state of Virginia ratified it, giving the bill the majority of ratifying states required to protect citizens from the power of the federal government.

The First Amendment ensures that "if there is any fixed star in our constitutional constellation, it is that no official, high or petty, can prescribe what shall be orthodox in politics, nationalism, religion, or force citizens to confess by word or act their faith therein," as Justice Robert Jackson wrote in the 1943 case West Virginia v. Barnette.

And as Justice William Brennan wrote in New York Times v. Sullivan in 1964, the First Amendment provides that "debate on public issues ... [should be] ... uninhibited, robust, and wide-open."

However, Americans vigorously dispute the application of the First Amendment.

Most people believe in the right to free speech, but debate whether it should cover flag-burning, hard-core rap and heavy-metal lyrics, tobacco advertising, hate speech, pornography, nude dancing, solicitation and various forms of symbolic speech.

Many would not agree to limiting free expression, as seen in the First Amendment article on our website at: IslamNewsroom.com

Most people, at some level, consider the need of religious liberty and toleration, but most balk when a religious tenet of a minority religion conflicts with a generally applicable law or with their own religious faith. Many Americans see the need to separate the state from the church to some extent, but decry the banning of school-sponsored prayer from public schools and the removal of the Ten Commandments from public buildings.

Further, courts wrestle daily with First Amendment controversies and constitutional clashes, as evidenced by the free-press vs. fair-trial debate and the dilemma of First Amendment liberty principles vs. the equality values of the 14th Amendment. Such difficulties are the price of freedom of speech and religion in a tolerant, open society.

Now it is time for you to READ - RATE - COMMENT - Tell the world what you think and how you feel..



Comments   

#1 shahnaz malik 2011-01-31 14:28
The real&most just constitution is the Holy Quran itself.ALLAH has laid down the rules&laws for this world to follow with perfection.Man made constitutions are unjust&unfair to all.

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