First Amendment Assignment:
- Do you agree or disagree with the freedoms? Explain.
- Which do you support, and which do you think are excessive or provide too much freedom?
- Do you recognize the law? (Note how many identify it as the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution and how many do not. Note the percentage from each age group.)
Person 1 Answer: Leslie Jones
1) yes. the right to express yourself & your beliefs, gather with people who hold the same belief system and challenge the law when these rights are not granted is the foundation of this freedom of this country.
2) I support them all! The freedom of the press is tricky. false information or one-sided information is often passed as fact – it is the opinion of that particular institution and often causes confusion.
3) abiding (recognizing) by laws in this country are crucial to be a citizen. when these are ignored, abused or rejected it causes chaos within the country.
Person 2 Answer: Chris Jones
I do agree with the First Amendment. Freedom of religion is a tricky one, because I don’t believe that our forefathers had the intention of protecting religions that were harmful to the United States. I think other groups have used this amendment to stand behind and are not entirely honest about the purpose. When this amendment was adopted from the bill of rights, times were different. People were coming to this to be American and many practiced religions that were close to all being a form of Christianity. That is not the case today.
I agree with the other laws for the most part, I think sometimes freedom of speech and press are taken too far but it is the law. I do honor the law, I don’t always have to agree with it, but it is the law.
Person 3 Answer: Rylea Mims
I agree with these freedoms. This is because I think there should be basic unalienable human rights.
I support all of the points in this law. freedom of religion, press, speech, assembly, and petition.
Personally, I do recognize this law.
Person 4 Answer: Nicole Hoffman
1. I agree that these should be basic rights for people and feel they have been a good foundation for laws and society.
2. I believe each law is necessary and covers an important subject that is broad enough to support many rights. I do not feel any are excessive, especially due to the broadness and interpretation that can be placed on each one.
3. Yes, it is the first amendment.
Person 5 Answer: Meghan Minton
1. I firmly agree with the freedoms listed and believe that they are key to a free, fair, and functioning society.
2. I think that no law is excessive or provides too much freedom because without complete freedom in these areas there is a potential for dictatorship or an oligarchy instead of a democracy.
ANALYSIS
A couple of patterns emerge from the answers above. Every person I asked, no matter the age, agreed with the freedoms listed. A difference I noticed was that the older generation put emphasis on some of the freedoms being “tricky”. They mentioned freedom of press and religion as two examples.
INTERPRETATION
I believe these patterns show the difference between an older and younger generation. My generation immediately thinks of all freedom for all people and tend to only see the positive in that, which I am by no means saying is a bad thing. However, there is value in the older generation having seen firsthand some issues that freedoms can bring about. Everyone did recognize this law as the First Amendment which I believe matters because it is important for everyone to know their rights and be aware. All of my subjects were also almost 100% supportive of every law.
EVALUATION
My interviewees judged the freedoms almost one by one if they were above the age of twenty. They looked into each individual law and explained how some could be trickier than others. Everyone I interviewed had, in general, a pretty good grasp of the Amendment. I was impressed with the amount of knowledge but also self awareness. One interviewee mentioned that “even though I might not agree with it, it is the law and I follow it”. Something that caught my attention in an answer was when one person mentioned that there could be some religions that are harmful to the United States and our forefathers did not include that in their original intention. I am not saying I agree or disagree, it was simply eye-catching.
ENGAGEMENT
According to High School Student Views On The First Amendment: Trends in the 21st Century – Knight Foundation , Students have had a variety of responses for over a decade now. There has been a growing difference between white students and boys mentioning a disagreement with some laws, while girls and students of color tend to agree more. I think eventually, as this generation grows up, this could turn into a much larger issue and source of division than it is now. I can already see that in the difference of answers I got from my subjects varying in age.