Amending an Amendment Blog # 3

Brad's Weekly Post:

Today in class the conversation really hit home for me. We talked about the freedom's we as Americans have. I always knew my first Amendment rights, weather being arrested or just going for a walk down Deerfield road, I have the freedom of speech. With this freedom comes a lot of controversy. The fact that people can say whatever whenever leads to some enormous problems. Take the example of targeting a specific race or ethnicity, in a public environment like a school; let’s say a student wares a shirt that promotes taking black people out of the school system. The student can argue that it’s his first amendment right. Here is where the amendment gets amended, even though it’s a public environment every day we are deprived of constitutional rights. This made no sense to most people but I came up with a solution called the time and place theory. This theory promotes good judgment, using your full freedom should only be done in the correct venue. For example going into an abortion clinic and protesting how women should keep their children. That is the wrong time and place. This is not a complex theory rather simple, just requiring good judgment. I think the first amendment was created so that people could express their feelings about government freely, not to hurt people and to provoke racial battles and violence.  This is "the land of the free” (national anthem) so let’s not abuse that privilege.

Brad's Blog #1 & #2

                               A Great Day:

"The only constant in life in change". As every great summer comes to an end change is of the essence. With the leaves falling and trees dropping foliage left and right, the end of summer is near. With 107 degree days coming to an end school is now in session. The first day of school is always different, filled with change like what friends I will have in each class, or how will my teachers be? Change is the only constant. This year everything went smoothly, my classes were great as well as my teachers. The once hard transition three years ago was a memory of the past. The future was here and I was awaiting its arrival.

                             Plege of Allegence:

After reading an article thus putting laws on saying the Pledge of Allegiance every day I think its an outrage. I 100% disagree with the laws of punishment for not saying the pledge as well as the fact that it is required to start each day. If you don’t want to state the pledge you shouldn’t have to. It’s a direct violation of the First Amendment. Under the Constitution Americans have the freedom to speak as well as freedom not to speak. If someone does not wish to stand or state the pledge that person should not be required to do so. The laws go againsed my views on the pledge, I don’t think that it should be a requirement to say every morning, and "under god" should be taken out due to separation between church and state. I don’t think it should be eliminated but just come upon differently. The way it should work is that people who want to state the pledge should do it on their own time. It should not be a state mandated endeavor. Another thing I would change is that no one would ever be punished for not stating the pledge. In the article it specifically states that "a student in San Diego was forced to serve a detention for failure to recite the pledge". Occurrences like these are the reason America is failing. Things like this should never happen.
                                                 - # B.mart