The First Amendment: Free Of Expression :: essays research papers

The First Amendment Free of Expression     In 1787 our forefathers ratified the constitution of the United Statesof America, which contains the most important document to any American citizen,the Bill of Rights. The prototypical amendment of the Bill of Rights states     Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of     religion, or prohibiting the establishment thereof or     abridging the emancipation 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.these freedoms (commonly called the freedom of expression) are of the mostimportant rights in a truly republican society. Without them there would beno new ideas we would all conform under totalitarian rule for fear ofpunishment. However, when I, a common student at tungsten Rowan High School tryto express my feelings on "the state of the Bill of Rights in naturalizes today" bymaking a computer manifestation in multimedia class, my work is declared "bad"and my teacher and assistant principal do one of the most un-American thingsimaginable they censored it. I had to re-make the presentation and lightenthe harsh tone, and also erase the anarchy symbol from it. The teacher saidthat she was worried about me for reasons such as my feelings on the freedom ofreligion were almost satanic, because I said teachers should not be able topublicly practice religion in schools because it will encourage students tobecome a part of that religion. The presentation was neither slanderous norobscene, but it did criticize teachers and administrators calling them "fascistdictators". At first I was angry at the school because I could wear clothingthat was obscene or contained liquor advertisements, now they have completelytaken away my freedom of speech. This of course proved my argu ment thatteachers and administrators are totalitarians. As one journalist put it, "IfFreedom of expression becomes merely an empty slogan in the minds of enoughchildren, it will be dead by the time we are adults." I soon began reading moreand more about the freedom of speech in schools and every time a consequence assuch came up the Supreme Court ruled in favor of the student declaring theaction unconstitutional under the first amendment. As I was reading NatHentoffs book The First Freedom I came across a story in which a student wrotea newspaper article criticizing the school administration, soon after he ranfor student government and was taken off the ballot for his critique.Unfortunately he did not fight it in court. The principal sharply taught the