OK, folks...a little test for all of you.
Can you name the five basic freedoms guaranteed by the second amendment? Sounds pretty simple, right? Well, here is a news flash for you! More Americans than you want to believe don't know them all. In fact, some don't know any!
The five basic freedoms of the first amendment are as follows:
1. freedom of press
2. freedom of petition
3. freedom of religion
4. freedom of speech
5. assemble peaceably
A survey by the First Amendment Center in the US has reached the shocking conclusion that most American citizens don't know the five basic freedoms enshrined in the constitution.
The study found that no more than 3 percent of Americans remember"petition" among the First Amendment's five basic freedoms.
However, freedom of speech was remembered by the majority of respondents - 56 percent.
The others freedoms enshrined in the constitution appeared to have made little impression: freedom of religion was named by 15 percent; the same percentage remembered press freedom as a constitutional right while just 14 percent knew they had a right to assembly.
The number of respondents who remembered freedom of speech was the lowest in the history of the survey, conducted each year for the past eleven years.
What makes this year's results more shocking is that 4 out of 10 people questioned could not name any freedom at all.
Whatever freedoms the constitution of the country may guarantee, it does not matter much since these rights are neither remembered nor needed as such.
The findings indicate that modern Americans do not think along the same lines as the Founders of the U.S.
Nowadays, it would seem, many Americans do not consider their basic rights and freedoms inalienable and are ready to delegate them to state or federal officials.
More than two centuries ago it did not take long for the Founders of the United States of America to realize the necessity of preserving individual freedoms in a system of individual states with a strong federal governmental center.
In 1791, just four years after the declaration in 1787 of the American Constitution, the states adopted the First Amendment together with the Bill of Rights to guarantee that the strong federal government would not trample on basic individual rights and freedoms.
Moreover, there are rights totally forgotten by the American society,meaning most Americans are not familiar with the freedoms guaranteed by the American Constitution.
Freedom of speech and religion are among the first liberties introduced to the American Constitution by the Bill of Rights. Traditionally, most of the questioned Americans recalled them. But regarding freedom of the press, freedom to assemble and to petition... these seem to be lost in oblivion.
Personally folks, I think that is a shame. I really do. All I can say is "Shame on us...shame on us all!!"
Hell, I need some fresh coffee....how about you?
9 comments:
You're so right Jim!
Most of us take many things for granted until we realize they're gone. And...then it's usually too late.
Lets not lose what our founders worked so hard to get.
Freedom of the press is nearly gone as money became more important. Freedom of petition and freedom to assemble are still used by those who know their rights, but since 9/11 there have been so many clauses added to so many laws that these are slowly being lost as well.
Shame on us is right. We're falling asleep, and will one day wake up to realize what being complacent has done to us. Hopefully it will not be too late.
Thanks for reminding us!
lydia
December 2, 2008 7:54 AM
Hey Lydia...thanks for stopping by. I know you are right about us becoming more complacent each day, but how do you make people wake up that don't want to hear the truth?
God bless America, and help the leaders to become more attuned to the people's voices.
Have a good day, Girl!
I'm with ya. Too many people can't see past American Idol or US Weekly. It's pathetic the lack of fundamental understanding of the world or our rights that most Americans have these days
Hey Kookster...thanks for coming by. You have to wonder if the schools are teaching the children anything these days except maybe how to become better yuppies and good little consumers?
And where are the parents ? Is the act of conversing with our kids and handing down some basic knowledge of todays issues gone forever?
You ust have to wonder...thanks for the comments.
Jim, after all that? I need something quite stronger than coffee! And you are right on.
I've been following this for many years now, posting even some of that in my blog.
And what I have found? For the most part folks would rather hide their heads in the sand, as the saying goes. And that is very very sad.
But there are signs that folks are waking the heck up.
Please continue with your (such) posts!
johnski
Hey Johnski...good to see ya again. I think as more and more people become aware of what's really going on in this world today, they will realise that the people have to take the time to mark the boundries.
The government only has the power as long as the people give them the right to it, and if need be the people can take it back...legally!
Thanks for the comments...
I think that part of the problem stems from a misunderstanding about the basic rights... Rights listed in the constitution aren't inalienable. Congress might not be able to make laws that abridge our freedoms, but they can, for example, be taken away by court order.
More importantly, though, is the state of emergency declared by the president during the Vietnam war... and renewed by every president since. Not that it really matters, with the post-9-11 insanity we're dealing with now.
Hey Ashley...thanks for stopping by. My opinion is that anarchy called by any other name is still anarchy. We must not lose sight of the fact that the government works for us, and not the other way around.
Just my opinion...
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