First Amendment What is 1st Amendment? First Amendment gives the citizens of the United States the freedom of religion, speech, press, assembly and petition. It was adopted in 1791 and is one of the amendments that are part of the Bill of Rights. It sounds simple as we read it but do we really understand how this amendment impacts our life and our everyday living? As my parents reminded me, everybody has the freedom of speech but we have to keep in mind that it should be used with respect and tactfulness.
Not because we were given this freedom that we can easily and openly speak out our mind without being tactful. We can voice out our opinions or concerns to parents, teachers, classmates and others as long as we do it with respect. Since this freedom became a part of our everyday routine, we tend to forget how it gets abused. A very good example is how the press reporters execute the freedom of speech and of press. There are times that press reports end-up violating somebody’s privacy because the reporters are not being mindful of others.
In the students’ world, gossiping is common which I don’t find as a good use of our precious freedom of speech. If we can only use our energy in practicing our freedom of speech in promoting green environment, we can make this world a better place to live. Freedom of religion is also important in my everyday life because it protects me from being punished for practicing my own chosen religion. I am happy to live in a country that provides me with the freedom to have a choice in religion.
This helps me mold myself based on my religious beliefs. I feel bad for other people not having this freedom and was forced to follow the religion dictated by their government. Aside from freedom of religion, we also have the freedom of assembly. Have you imagined having a small gathering or party that ended up being dispersed by the police officers because it is an illegal assembly? We don’t have to worry about this because of our freedom of assembly that is protected by the First Amendment.
We should all be thankful that the First Amendment was created and adopted. It gives us the privileges and security living in a free world in our pursuit of happiness. There’s only one thing that we need to remember about our freedom. First Amendment does not protect us once we practice our given freedom to break the law. It does not make us above the law despite how others tried to interpret it for their own advantages.
