I haven't written in quite some time, clearly. However, I thought that I would revive this blog to celebrate the 220th birthday of the Bill of Rights.
Over the years, there have been additional amendments as the nation has evolved and as new problems have become apparent. Yet the Bill of Rights, the core ten amendments, still are seen to be the most integral. Further, the First Amendment has remained remarkably unchanged, even during the 220 years. To clear up the wording of "Congress shall make no law" (meaning the federal government alone), the Fourteenth Amendment was passed in 1865 to make the First Amendment binding upon governments of all levels in the United States.
The First Amendment reads "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." (First Amendment, Bill of Rights) While at first glance, this seems to be clear - all United States citizens are allowed to speak, gather, express ideas, petition the government, and practice their religion without interference from others - many situations have arisen in which different understandings have come into question.
In 1940, the case of Cantwell v. Connecticut (310 U.S. 296) decided that laws regarding the establishment of or prohibition of any religion are illegal. Chaplinsky v. New Hampshire (315 U.S. 568) found in 1942 that the state could limit epithets which an average person would likely retaliate against, therefore leading to a breach of the peace. The 1952 case of Joseph Burstyn, Inc. v. Wilson (343 U.S. 495) determined that no overarching restraint on motion pictures, such as that which New York had enacted, was not constitutional.
These early cases show that there is a wide range as to what is and is not found constitutional. It seems from most early cases that the determining factor was whether it would disturb the peace and create a larger problem for the greater society. The Founding Fathers wished for citizens to express themselves and share information in order to be truly free, particularly given the fledgling country's recent history with the British monarch's tyranny.
As time has passed, some Supreme Court justices have rules that the First Amendment freedoms are absolute and of a higher power than other freedoms, yet the Court as a whole has routinely held that the rights protected under this amendment may be limited to protect the rights of others (in the cases of libel, privacy, and inflammatory remarks laws) or guard against subversion of government. This means that the Court does not hold the rights of the First Amendment to be absolute; there are some basic, guaranteed rights (mainly of society) which are held above the amendment's rights.
Current issues under the First Amendment include freedom of information, government access, citizens' right to know, rights of privacy, collection of information, censorship, access to media and information, and distribution of information. All of these have become more pressing with the integration of the internet and technology, which have contributed to the public's demand for transparency.
I'd love to delve more into this topic, but I have to finish work for finals!
Remember to thank the troops who are serving, have served, or have given their lives in service to our country and protecting these rights for all of us. Without every single one of them, these rights would not remain intact and protected today.
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