The True Power of Our First Amendment Rights

Avra Saslow

From the late 1800s to the middle of the 20
th
century, individuals and communities
came flooding through the gates of America, beaming with suitcases full of hope and
potential. As American citizens, they were promised one thing: the freedom to
express their First Amendment rights. These rights, in particular the freedom of
speech, outlined some critical points that allowed the already powerful nation to
develop and advance at an accelerated rate. As citizens critiqued each other and the
nation that governed them, the American people were able to push past social issues
and advance into a more just and equal society. The Greek statesman Pericles first
spoke of democracy in 430 B.C., and his comments applied well to modern day
privileges of the First Amendment Rights: Our government is called a democracy
because power resides not in a few people but in the majority of our citizens. But
every person has equal rights before the law; prestige and respect are paid those
who win them by their merits, regardless of their political, economic or social status
and no one is deprived of making his contribution to the citys welfare.
However, our First Amendment rights are only as powerful as much as they are
exercised. Freedom of speech supports the idea of free will amongst the people, but
can only be accomplished with continuous discourse amongst one another. If we
cannot allow those opposing our own ideas the freedom to voice their views, then
we cannot expect the same to be done for us. Even though we have freedoms to
express our opinions, it doesnt mean that the government is obligated to listen and
act upon it. In particular, our freedom of speech must be heightened to compete
with the powerful voice of the government and determine that our representatives
are appropriately demonstrating the American publics views. As Americans
freedom of speech is crucial to the democracy that makes America so equal and just,
it must also be overly exercised to truly be a powerful counter check on other
citizens, and the government that dictates this great nation.

After 9/11, America was stricken with panic and fright from the terror that just
transpired. Over the next two years, the American government became focused on
the threat of Saddam Hussein in Iraq. In January of 2003, only 31% of the American
people were in favor of American military force (Popular, 2014). The other 69%
wanted to wait until UN peacekeepers had finished their weapons inspections. Many
people were not in favor of the impending war, and to show their distaste for the
United States Governments decisions, they decided to exercise their freedom of
speech with protests. On February 15
th
of 2003, more than 600 cities across the
world protested impending intervention of the Iraqi War (February, 2014). People
from Hungary to Japan to South Africa to Argentina and even Syria came together
and rose as a unified people. An undeniable power in objecting the war, the
individuals protesting coined the term, No blood for oil, and made their opposition
publicly known worldwide.

Yet our government decided to invade Iraq despite the large protests. In addition,
the worldwide opposition did nothing to deter the United States intervening in the
war. U.S National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice was reported saying that the
protests would not affect (the U.S administrations) determination to confront
Suddam Hussein and help the Iraqi people. The protests did, however, persuade
other decisions made worldwide. The Canadian government decided not to send
troops into Iraq, and stated that the protests had a large part in that decision.

The first amendment has a facade of giving the American people great power, but it
is not always as powerful as one could hope it would be. As in the example outlined
above, just because people protested does not mean that the government changed
their actions. It would be difficult to make an action that is supported by all people,
because the public will never agree on one thing; someone will always have a
different opinion. Nevertheless, this example demonstrates how much more
communities and individuals have to fight for their freedom of speech.

At the same time, the protests had a certain amount of effectiveness because of the
size of the community in opposition. Mobilizing protest rallies has a greater voice
than the voice of an individual. In 2004, Mos Def produced a song called Bush
Knocked Down the Tower (Bush, 2014). It outlined his mistrust for the American
politicians and the U.S government, and criticized the Bush Administration for
racism against Muslims and provoking 9/11. One of his most powerful lines to me
was a stanza where he stated how unnecessary the violence in the Middle East was.
They tell you listen
But they dont really tell you their mission
They funded Al Qaeda,
And now they blame the Muslim religion
These were some major accusations against the U.S government, but legal under
our Constitution. There are many countries where this type of protest would cause
the people to be arrested. The fact that individuals are allowed to say such radical
statements about our government says a lot about the powers that we have as
people. If anything, cultural icons like Mos Def may have a greater influence with
their freedom of speech in governmental actions than a larger population of people.
They have the ability to influence a large number of people.

As much as we value the power of freedom of speech, it doesnt always influence
decisions as much as we would hope. It is a fine balance, fighting for our freedom of
speech, while hoping the government takes action. However, even though the
American government isnt obligated to respond from our words, the fact that we
can speak our minds is a large part in achieving progress as a nation.







Works Cited
"Bush Knocked Down The Towers Lyrics." Immortal Technique -. Web. 06 Oct. 2014.
<http://www.metrolyrics.com/bush-knocked-down-the-towers-lyrics-
immortal-technique.html>.
"February 15, 2003 Anti-war Protest." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 19 Sept.
2014. Web. 06 Oct. 2014.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/February_15%2C_2003_anti-war_protest>.
"Popular Opinion in the United States on the Invasion of Iraq." Wikipedia. Wikimedia
Foundation, 10 Feb. 2014. Web. 06 Oct. 2014.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Popular_opinion_in_the_United_States_on_
the_invasion_of_Iraq>.