Stephen Miranda
Government: it is who decides who we can be, and sets limits for the things we can do. In America, our freedoms trump the ideas of dictatorships, and we plan to keep it that way for a very, very long time. It is important for each American to own these freedoms as one of their most important gifts that other people may not be fortunate enough to have, but if they are not known, they are useless. It is a necessity to be taught these rights when we hold a mind with the most rebellious of thoughts as a teenager. We need to know what we can or cannot say, inside or outside of school so that we feel confidence in exercising our rights properly. In Humanities class, we did just that.
Recently we had been researching and exploring our first amendment rights. We brought them to light through real world examples of case laws and events in history. When we had a solid grounding and the understanding of our First Amendment rights, we launched our First Amendment Video Project. It was now up to us to present what we knew, and why it is so important. The class was separated into groups and sent out to produce and entertaining, yet informative, educational video. It was merely moments before my group decided on a path to take. We asked ourselves the questions: How important is the First Amendment to others? Do they even know their rights? We traversed the streets of downtown Durango asking people of their knowledge. Within the majority of our interviews, not much was known. Most people had the general understanding that the First Amendment includes our rights to free speech, but it was difficult getting a deeper answer. We explained these rights to everybody who did not know, and tried our best to educate strangers on the topic. We were proud of our knowledge and were excited to share it with others. It was somewhat inspiring watching their faces light up with interest as we discussed what could not be said, and it made me feel as though I had something to contribute, even if for only a couple days.
Americans need to know their rights, it is what keeps us out of court or even jail. In 2007, the Morse vs. Fredrick case arose when a student presented a banner displaying the words, “Bong hits for Jesus,” at a school sponsored event. The display of this banner was detained, though not without a fight. The high school student, Joseph Fredrick, Claimed that the school had violated his first amendment rights and the case was taken to trial. Success was eventually found for the school. Though the banner could be displayed on the streets in most cases, it cannot at a school event. Knowing the rights of a student, even at school sponsored events, would have saved Fredrick a large amount of time and money. Though many of us are not going to be displaying any obscene messages at the next school dance, it is of great importance to know what a school cannot sensor. With this project, we contributed to teaching the public of their rights under the first amendment, and will surely continue to do so throughout our lives.
Though I know more about my rights than what may possibly be a majority of Americans, I had barely scratched the surface. I would have loved to dice even deeper into the research of our boundaries and I would love to know more about how I am affected in school. We scratched the surface, though we could have gone much deeper. We could have researched more cases, and case laws.
The First Amendment is the reason why we are here today. It withholds the ideals that this country was based around. It is what lets us be who we are, and more importantly, who we want to be. It is the strength to choose a religion, to say what needs to be said. We need to take advantage of what we have instead of letting it fall through our fingers because of ignorance. It is a safety net; something we may not challenge every day, nor every year, but if something happens our knowledge can be there to catch us.
Watch Our Video Project:
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