Downfall Pt 12

Part 12

The First Amendment is the first amendment to the Constitution, of which the first ten are called the Bill of Rights. It one of the most exploited and misunderstood of all the Amendments. The text of the Amendment is plain and simple, it states,

"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 part of the Amendment states that "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free speech thereof..."
There is a quote by Thomas Jefferson that explains this portion of the Amendment far better than I could ever hope to. He states,

"One of the amendments to the Constitution... expressly declares that '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,' thereby guarding in the same sentence and under the same words, the freedom of religion, of speech, and of the press; insomuch that whatever violates either throws down the sanctuary which covers the others."

In regards to religion this quote means that if you restrict a persons right to freely practice their religious beliefs you are infringing upon their freedom of speech. This entire separation of church and state issue has been misinterpreted by everyone all the way up to the Supreme Court. Cases like the ones being fought by Michael Newdow to remove any reference to the word God from our lives and public places are ridiculous. The first amendment was written so that government cannot impose religious beliefs upon you.
James Madison further states,

The purpose of separation of church and state is to keep forever from these shores the ceaseless strife that has soaked the soil of Europe with blood for centuries.

What the writers of the Constitution wanted was for us to be free to practice our religious beliefs but they did not want government imposed religion that was the cause of bloodshed for centuries as was the case in Europe.
Anyone who restricts a persons ability to practice their religious beliefs openly also infringes upon their right to freedom of speech, and that is also a violation of the same Amendment that is being used to restrict religion in the first place. You can't have it both ways!

Thomas Jefferson once said,
"The constitutional freedom of religion [is] the most inalienable and sacred of all human rights."

Patrick Henry states something that needs to be read by those who wish to remove all references to God from our lives. He said,


"It cannot be emphasized too strongly or too often that this great nation was founded, not by religionists, but by Christians; not on religions, but on the Gospel of Jesus Christ. For this very reason peoples of other faiths have been afforded asylum, prosperity, and freedom of worship here"

Therefore, our country and our laws were built upon the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and for that reason those rights are guaranteed in the First Amendments. Any decisions made by any U.S. Court, all the way up to the Supreme Court, that restrict the 'free exercise thereof' is unconstitutional and therefore invalid.

I do not like a good percentage of the shows on television. They promote sexual promiscuity and immoral behavior. I am told to change the channel if I don't like what I see on the television. That same principle goes for those who chose not to worship God, they can just ignore what is being said in reference to Him. If they are too thin skinned to allow a reference to God bother them, they have other issues that need to be dealt with.

The final portion of the First Amendment says,
"the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances."

That means that people can gather together and discuss publicly topics of concern, and also the right to confront their elected officials with grievances. That does not mean that if they do not like something that has happened they can riot in the streets. The riots after the Rodney King incident was a fine example of what is not considered a peaceable demonstration. Neither are the riots the follow major sporting events when a favorite team loses. That is pure lawlessness and should not be tolerated.

Finally the right to petition the government for a redress of grievances is something that I have tried to do on numerous occasions. I have written my Congressman and Senators, and even the President. Most of the time I am ignored. Since President Bush has been in office I have yet to receive one single reply from his office. President Clinton wrote me twice and I disagreed with on every issue. So how are the people to redress their government when the government will not listen to their concerns. Illegal immigration is a fine example of this. A clear majority of the people are not happy with the Senates Resolution or the Presidents plan to solve this problem, yet they do nothing to change their plan to satisfy the desires of those for whom they represent.

The only further means of redress we have available is at the voting booth, unless you consider more drastic measures which I will cover in a later section. This is one area that clearly shows that the government is not concerned with our views on the issues. They make talk a good talk when they are running for office, but they ignore our concerns on certain issues once elected. This is where our apathy plays into their hands. If we sit back and allow them to remain in office after a good portion of the country disagrees with their actions, just like the title of this paper says, it is our own damn fault!

That concludes my talk on the First Amendment.