FREE ESSAY ON 1ST AMENDMENT

1ST AMENDMENT

HE FIRST AMENDMENT Congress shall make no laws respecting an establishment of religion or
prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble,
and to petition the
government for a redress of grievances. What exactly are the limits to free speech,
anyway? This amendment
forbids the government from making any law that prohibits it. The debate against this
will rage on forever, even
judges can't agree. One of the big things that cause argument is people suing publishers
and editors for all kinds
of things. We need to remind these folks that the First Amendment is a man-made law, not
something that is
God-made and perfect in all situations, it does have it's limits. Our founding fathers
wouldn't mind if we drew the
line at a book that gives instructions on how to commit murder. There have been many
songs that talk about
violence against the police. A man from Texas claimed that the lyrics from Tupac Shakur's
2Pacalypse Now
inspired him to murder a deputy sheriff. But Tupac's song wasn't a how-to on killing
police, with explicit
instructions. There is a thick line that falls between a work of art that depicts or
describes an act of violence and
a book that gives advice on murder. Anyone with even a shred of common sense knows that
you can't say or
write anything about any subject at any time you please. That's why newspapers and
magazines across the
country go through a self-censorship process that's stricter than any amendment would
impose. Unlike some
people, most editors and publishers know that the First Amendment's forbidding government
from making a new
law impinging on freedom of speech doesn't mean that private individuals can't sue you.
One judge might throw
their cases out, another might rule for the bailiffs. Printing something that's simply
offensive may be protected
under our Bill of Rights. But that has never stopped individuals from suing them. I saw
keep on, if the congress
feels that strongly about our rights, so be it. But we need more people to stop them from
getting out of hand.