The US Constitution gives a framework of powers and duties of the branches of the federal government and how they relate to the states. This form of government enables the citizens to enjoy the rights and privileges intended for them and as enshrined in the US Constitution. To see how the US Constitution influences a citizen’s life on a day-to-day basis, one needs to begin with the Bill of Rights rather than understanding the structure of government. The First Amendment reveals a lot of freedoms and how the federal government is empowering a citizen that seeks to enjoy life, liberty and pursue his or her happiness within the borders of the United States (Grelle, 2016 ; Stone, Seidman, Sunstein, & Tushnet, 2016) . In addition, the First Amendment provides a framework to understand and recognize important civil liberties and civil rights for the citizens of the United States.
Newseum Institute First Amendment Center allows the public to understand the significance of having a free press and the First Amendment. The citizens and those who the First Amendment may be new to will witness the story of news, the place of a free press in recognizing occurrences in history, and how the central freedoms of the First Amendments - religious standing, free speech, media, assembly, and petition - could be applied to their lives. Newseum has been determined to be one of the most interactive museums globally, having 15 galleries as well as 15 theaters (Lewis, 2017). Exhibits comprise the 9/11 Gallery and among others, that is supported by Comcast displaying the broadcast projections from the highest point of the World Trade Center, and among others.
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The Freedom Forum First Amendment Center was founded on December 15, 1991, the 200th anniversary of the ratification of the Bill of Rights to the U.S. Constitution. Lewis (2017) expounds that the Freedom Forum Institute is the education and outreach partner of the Newseum that encompasses the First Amendment Center, the Religious Freedom Center, the Newseum’s education department as well as variety and inclusion plans. The freedom forum ensures that the liberty that individuals enjoy also defends the press. Congress is not permitted to form a law that despises the frameworks of religion, hinder free exercise of it or compromise the freedom to speak or that of the press (Grelle, 2016). The people have the right to peaceably assemble and protest as well as petition the government to examine and solve their grievances. Thus, the Freedom Forum provides a platform through which these rights can be discussed and reinforced in the system.
The First Amendment to the US Constitution confirms the rights of individuals to freedom of speech, to media, to peaceably gather to petition the government for compensation of complaints or violation of rights. The citizen is empowered on a daily basis to live freely, with his or her personal responsibilities and privileges promoted (Coates IV, 2015) . Based on the First Amendment, the citizens can freely express themselves, give their opinion concerning critical issues in society, large or insignificant. According to Lewis (2017), this can be done without feeling threatened by being punished by any government representative that may be opposed to one’s point of view. The right to free expression enables someone to read and be aware of events that occur around or far, comprising indications of when the government is beginning to become oppressive to its people or responsive. For instance, shutting down the internet and wireless networks so that the citizens do not voice their opinions on social media is a violation of freedom of media and speech according to the US Constitution.
The US constitutional rights give the framework and details of other First Amendment, making it very fundamental to not only the US citizens but also the world at large. The First Amendment also gives the citizen the freedom to join a campaign to oppose assault weapons that are connected to gang violence or to affiliate with hunters that resist gun laws (Coates IV, 2015) . The First Amendment also permits citizens to voice their indignation and dissatisfaction with the National Security Agency’s Surveillance of their phone calls or emails. They could even resist any other unlawful search or investigation by the government official on private communications that could hinder a terrorist attack (Grelle, 2016). This is because a cyber-attacker may disguise himself or herself to be representing the government when he has ill motives against citizen and penetrate through his personal communications over the internet or any other platform.
Through the First Amendment, a citizen may lodge a complaint if a police officer based on discriminative tendencies seizes them. Thus, when one suspects racism or segregation of any form, they should resist such tendencies against them because the US Constitution clearly spells this out. They should not be pressured to make a confession to a crime that they did not have a hand on (Coates IV, 2015) . The citizens also have a right to call on their lawyer once an arrest has been made on them, and they should not accept any hindrance to access their lawyer. They may refuse to talk until their lawyer presents themselves and advise them to do so (Stone, Seidman, Sunstein, & Tushnet, 2016) . The First Amendment allows the newspaper or anyone through the social media platform to tell the public of the proceedings showing one’s trial for a crime in a closed courtroom or without a jury or a defense lawyer. This privilege could also be received when someone is exposed to nasty experiences or treatments in the prison doors. The media can take this up and inform the public of that ordeal.
The First Amendment of the American Constitution causes the citizens to exercise free speech rights on the debate on the issues that are witnessed within the nation. People are able to constitute civil rights movements to advocate for the rights or privileges of others. The citizens are able to join these movements to oppose tendencies of discrimination or denying other equal opportunities based on factors of gender, race, religious standings, sexual orientation, and among others (Stone, Seidman, Sunstein, & Tushnet, 2016) . Through this whistleblowing, the attention of the public will be won so that the issue is tackled amicably and speedily. In this way, it becomes fundamental to the world as issues of people can be addressed in a sound manner with all fairness and justice. Therefore, this enables sanity in the world as the government is given the responsibility to defend their people.
In conclusion, it is agreeable that the First Amendment is in a preferred position. It occupies the first pages of the Bill of Rights purposefully as it puts into perspective the subsequent laws and regulations that guide the citizens. The First Amendment as seen gives the people the right to express themselves, and to defend themselves if they feel the government is infringing their rights. They also have the liberty to utilize the media to call to the attention of the public of any violations of one’s rights and privileges. Consequently, this whistleblowing may initiate peaceful public protests and talks that would amount to recommendations for change being adopted. Thus, the First Amendment puts the US Constitution into perspective and empowers all other contents that the constitution has.
References
Coates IV, J. C. (2015). Corporate Speech & the First Amendment: History, Data, and Implications . Const. Comment. , 30 , 223.
Grelle, B. (2016). The First Amendment and the “3 Rs” of Religious Liberty: A US Approach to Religion Education and Human Rights . In Human Rights and Religion in Educational Contexts (pp. 243-255). Springer, Cham.
Lewis, A. (2017). A Public Right to Know About Public Institutions: The First Amendment as Sword . In Media Freedom and Contempt of Court (pp. 35-60). Routledge.
Stone, G. R., Seidman, L. M., Sunstein, C. R., & Tushnet, M. V. (2016). The First Amendment . Wolters Kluwer Law & Business.
