The First Amendment

"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."

To me the First Amendment is the most important of the Bill of Rights amendments. Not only does it give the average citizen the right to speak freely without fear of retaliation from the government, it gives the same right to the press. Freedom of the press is a crucial part of a free Democracy. Without freedom of the press we might never have learned about scandals such as Watergate or the Monica Lewinski fiasco. We need the press to keep us up to date on what is going on with the country and the strengths and weaknesses of political candidates. Also there are so many different religions in the United States that without the freedom of religion given to us by the First Amendment this country would fall apart.

To me this cartoon shows us that even without fear of retaliation from the government, free speech like everything can be controlled by the wealthy and powerful. Who knows how many large company scandals have been hidden from the public by a reporter who got paid off. However, that is why it is good to have so many different media outlets; if the scandal is big enough, the people involved won't be able to keep it from the public for long.

This picture brings up a topic that has been debated ever since the freedom of speech was included in the Bill of Rights. Should speech that is meant to hurt other people be protected by the First Amendment? The only reason I think "Hate Speech" should be protected is the fact that it would be an impossible form of speech to regulate. So many people in this country say things without thinking about how it could affect the people around them, that if "Hate Speech" wasn't protected the justice system would be overwhelmed with new cases.