Amendment 1

Amendment I




Freedom of Religion, Press, Expression. Ratified 12/15/1791.



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.

Opinion:

This amendment is stating that by law the congressional assembly can not restrict the ability of a person to practice a religion. In no form may another lawfully ridicul the practices and beliefs of another religion within reason of the Constitution. I feel that this amendment is well placed and decided upon by reason of the fact that many religions vary and can seem udderly ridiculous to others. This protects the religiously different from the christian/catholic mainstream that our nation is based upon. With the incident of 9-11 many muslim/islamic people have been feeling the effects of the cultural difference. Being stopped at airports for extra screenings or being mocked by the masses. Due to this amendment, the many muslims that feel the effects of the 9-11 incident, are able to keep their jobs, own their homes, shop at the same places as the rest of us, and be a functioning member of society. If it weren't for this amendment the amount of religious persecution pressed upon these "different" people would be repulsive. Internment camps such as those that our nation created against the Irish during the early years of our nation or of the ones created for the Japanese after the attack on Pearl Harbor. I know I would not be able to feel good about myself knowing that my country was causing such harm to an innocent person just becasue they are of the same religious background as a group of mass murdering terrorists were. Thanks to this amendment, I nor anyone else has to feel that being of a certain religion is a reason for persecution.

Also stated is the freedom of speech.Giving the people free speech gives them the ability to open mindedly speak against or for anything of their choosing as long as it is not plagarized or slanderous. If this amendment did not exist Martin Luther King Jr. would not have been able to openly speak of the combining of whites and blacks. If this had never happened our society may still be segregated today. Along the lines of MLKJr, if it weren't for the freedom to assemble, the masses would not have been able to join together in the presence of him to show that they wanted to create a new non-segregated world.

The right to petition is present in the above amendment. The right to petition gives the American people their voice. A more current situation is the healthcare reform. As an employee of a skilled nursing facility, I completely oppose the $32 billion cuts in medicare and medicaid. If the right to petition was not available, I would not be able to show that I oppose this cut. At my job now, many of my co-workers and I have banned together on a national website to sign the petition against the cuts. see ahca.org. The right to petition gives me the opportunity to show my opinion.

The freedom of press is within its own commodity. I not being a member of the press cannot speak first hand of the advantages is gives not the disadvantages. However, without it, we would not be able to follow most government movement, celebrity lifestyle, or historical outcome in our own living rooms. The freedom of press gives the common American the ability to know what is going on in the country and world around them.