First Amendment

 The first amendment, created in 1971 along nine other amendments 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.” Throughout history we have seen the first amendment exercised. 

 Religion 

The freedom of religion gives people in the United States an opportunity to choose and practice any religion they want to. No government/ state can oblige citizens to practice a religion, citizens have the free will to choose. An example that comes to mind is a Muslim  being able to pray in public without having harm done to them.

  

 

Speech 

The freedom of speech is the foundation of expression in the United States. The freedom to say what you want without being policed. But there are some exceptions to this part of the first amendment. If the speech encourages incitement, or defamation, or threats, or provoking retaliation then legal prosecution will possibly be considered. As many of us can remember earlier this year there was an attack at the US capital. Many maga supporters vandalized the US capital chanting “Stop the steal!” Trump provoked this attack on Twitter and at one of his last speeches as a president. But because of the harm that was done this caused Trump to be suspended off Twitter and Facebook till possibly 2023. Even this was an excellent example that freedom of speech comes with limitations if the citizens are at possible harm or danger. But Trump could possibly retaliate against this case and say that’s a form of censorship.

Press 

Freedom of press gives freedom for newspapers, magazines, and news outlets to talk about whatever they want to without being controlled by the government. Freedom of press can incite a lot of corruption because news outlets can say whatever they want. A big problem with freedom of press is “fake news”. They can literally makeup or lie about anything about anyone. Unfortunately this has ruined many relationships and reputations. Many celebrities are a target. Meghan Markle was severely mentally distressed to all the crazy and untrue things England’s headline were saying about her.

 

 

Assembly 

Freedom of assembly gives an opportunity for citizens to come together and express their shared beliefs peacefully. Throughout United State’s history we have seen protest happening encouraging race equality, sex equality, freedom to do things like voting and so on. A modern protest that has been happening is the the BLM movement. Because of the many events of police brutality and racial attacks BLM has come together to protest about the unjustified behavior happening in the US. A lot of times BLM is targeted by the police even when being peaceful. This shows that the first amendment isn’t always practiced fairly. 

 

Petition 

Lastly  the freedom to petition has been very impactful to the United States. Citizens can come together once again and gather signatures for request for the government. They can ask for laws to be changed, court cases to be revised, even possibly having a government official being removed from their position.

  

Conclusión 

The first amendment gives citizens the opportunity to express themselves safely. It gives them an opportunity to stand up for what they believe in and possibly take action 

  Cite 

History.com Editors. “First Amendment”. History.com. 25 September 2019,https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.history.com/.amp/topics/united-states-constitution/first-amendment