A Look At The Constitution & The Bill Of Rights Series: “The Frst Amendment.” (Part 2)
Lets talk about the second half of the First Amendment; Freedom of the Press and the Right to Peaceably Assemble…
If you haven’t read part one of our “Bill Of Rights” Series, click the link below:?
Part 1:?
Part 2:?
The Free Press has been in the news a lot recently; mainly because of the Trump Presidency.
And you would be hard-pressed, (no pun intended) to find anyone better at their job, more loyal, or dedicated, than former Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders. Eventhough she has faced, arguably the most hostile, rude, and ruthless, White House Press Corp in US history, she stood her ground and held her own against constant attack.
The White House press corps had their first duties in the White House in the early 1900s. And they have historically been very respectful to the office of the President, but used hard hitting questions, and painstaking research, to hold the president accountable to the people.
This is the true purpose of the “Freedom of the Press” clause in the first amendment; to keep the Government accountable to the people, and to keep the people informed about what their Government is actually up to.
This no longer seems to be the case, see: Jim Acosta refuses to sit down and allow the next reporter to ask a question;gets rough with WH staff. Since the 2016 election, and the subsequent win by Trump, the press and the media in general have been ruthless in their attacks against him.
We have not seen this kind of disrespect, out right political bias, and contempt for the office of the President, ever.
But with that said, the press have a nobel duty and responsibility to our nation, and a free press is absolutely necessary for the continuation of liberty in our country. However, we need to get back to a place where the press is only interested in the truth, and nothing but the truth, so help them God; where they don’t take sides but research the facts of all sides, and report only those facts to the people so they can make up their own minds.
See our series on the importance of a “Well Balanced Media”:?
We are here however, to take a look at the 1st amendment’s freedom of the press clause; lets take a look at the wording, true intention, and the reasons the founders included it in the 1st amendment along with freedom of speech.
Fist Amendment:
Amendment I
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.
Congress shall make no law abridging the freedom of the press.
Let’s break this down; what did they mean by the words “abridging”?
Abridge
verb (used with object),
a·bridged,a·bridg·ing.
- 1. to shorten by omissions while retaining the basic contents: to abridge a reference book.
- 2. to reduce or lessen in duration,scope, authority, etc.; diminish;curtail:to abridge a visit; to abridge one’sfreedom.
- 3. to deprive; cut off.
Its that 3rd one that’s important here. They used this particular word because the purpose was to limit the power of the federal government. To make sure that the government could not in anyway limit, ruduce, or deprive a free press.
The Founders knew how important it was for the people to have access to the truth; and that only facts and reason, would lead to better Governance by and for the people. Thomas Jefferson said it best:
“No experiment can be more interesting than that we are now trying, and which we trust will end in establishing the fact, that man may be governed by reason and truth. Our first object should therefore be, to leave open to him all the avenues to truth. The most effectual hitherto found, is the freedom of the press.”
Thomas Jefferson
There is a great article on the Haritage Foundation website, about how the Founders felt about the press and why they included it in the 1st amendment. It was written by the Associate Director and Research Fellow, at the B. Kenneth Simon Center for Principles and Politics, Arthur Milikh, who’s Areas of expertise , is to conduct research on America’s founding principles. Take a look at what he writes below:?
“The press is meant to serve both intellectual and political liberty.” That one profound sentence sums it all up right there. We need a free and open press in order to have, and ultimately keep, our liberty; and the founders understood this principle.
So what constitutes “The Press”? Are we here at the RightWay, considered The Press? What about the guy blogging from his armchair in his mom’s basement, is he? Or, did the founders only mean organizations like our mainstream media could be The Press?
Well, to answer that, we need to look at the Federalist Papers . These Papers, written by Hamilton and Madison, are arguably the most important political essays ever written; And were intended to persuade people to believe in, and want to adopt, the US Constitution.
These papers discussed many things, such as political problems between states, insurrection, and what they saw as founding principles; as well as, what they felt should be the powers of the Senate, the Courts, and Executive branches of Government and so on… They were the foundations for The Constitution, and the beginnings of our nation.
Starting in 1787 and then published in book form in 1788, these essays were published and then distributed by hand to as many people as possible. They were even translated into many different languages. This was the founder’s equivalent of Amazon self-published books today.
But this…this is exactly what they meant by a Free Press. Various thoughts, ideas, facts and the truth, all disseminated directly to the people, without interference from a tyrannical Government.
The U.S. Revolution was started by, and some might even say won, because regular people spoke out, and argued against the tyranny of Brittish rule; they talked openly, about what it meant to have true freedom and liberty, and their message spread fast, far and wide.
Today we call this type of communication, Social Media. It’s our version of the medieval Town Cryer, standing on the soapbox in the middle of the town square, or the federalist papers being handed out in mass to the public.
It is evidence of the foward-thinking brilliance of the founders, that they connected the freedom of the Press with the Freedom of Speech in the Bill of Rights. They wanted to ensure that the people’s voices would always be heard; that the free and open exchange of ideas, all ideas, would be the foundation of our new nation for all time.
They understood that a tyrannical Government, like the one they had just broken free from, if it wanted to, could easily shut down any dissenting opinion that was a threat to its power. They knew that a tyrant could, and would, fine or even jail those who were spreading such ideas. It’s been said that, “power currups, and absolute power, currups absolutely,” and they knew it all too well. And so, they made the press free, in order to limit that power of our new Government.
However our SoapBox has now been currupted. There is a conspiracy the likes of which, the founders would never have imagined or believed.
A conspiracy from the Democrat political party working with, and through, the mainstream media & news networks on TV and newspapers; along with our educational institutions, even Hollywood and now Big Tech companies. All these organizations working together to influence the way we get our information. Even influencing our elections by trying to ensure that any dessenting opinions are never heard by the voting public.
Companies like Google, Facebook, and Twitter, are Controlling every bit of information that we see and hear. We only get the “Truth” that they want us to get. And so, citizen run news organizations like TheRightWay.site and others are more important than ever before. They help to balance Fake News and Misinformation Campaigns used against the populous, to assert power and control over the people.
Read our articles about this here:?
Next, lets talk a bit about “The Right of the People Peaceably to Assemble, and to Petition the Government for a Redress of Grievances.
“Peaceably Assemble,” important words…and chosen very carefully by the authors of the Constitution.
Eventhough, the American Revolution and subsequent Independence was eventually won By War, the Founders did not want the Government of their new nation to be changed, or overthrown, by bloody violence.
In the short years after the Revolution, after and the Declaration of Independence had been signed, in 1776, and just before the ratification of the US Constitution in 1791; there was another Revolution beginning in Europe. The French Revolution.
It began in 1789, and at times, it fell into darknes, horrific violence, and assassinations. The people rose up against the Monarchy and the Guillotine was in wide spread use. It was even used to Behead King Louis XVI, and his wife Marie Antoinette. Riots and linchings and beheadings happened regularly against the Ruling class of the Country and the Church. Some were hunted down and murdered along with their entire families.
Watch the video below for the condensed history of the French Revolution:???
The founders wanted a way to help prevent such violence, done by regular people who believe it is the only to change the laws and the get the attention of the Government in their new nation; the people therfore would need a way to adress their grievences, and by law, have the Government be required to listen to them.
And so a pact, of sorts, was made between the Government and The People; saying that if the people would assemble peacably, that their grievences would be listened to. And they could petition the government to make changes to the Constitution and the rule of law. That is a simplistic definition of course, but the basic idea is valid.
They wanted a Government of the people, by the people and for the people. The key word there? You guessed it, “people.” There had to be a way to ensure that the Government respected and Listened to the grievances of the regular everyday citizenry. And that the people felt as if it did. You can get a more detailed history of the Peacable Assembly and Petition clause in the article below:?
No where in history, has the power of Peacable Assembly to change Government, been as clear as the American Civil Rights movement, and the example set, my Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
He famously enacted his Rright to Peaceably Assemble, with marches and rallies that changed not just our country, but the entire world, without raising a single fist in anger and violence.
The only other example this writer can think of, who embodied this type of non violent revolution to change the world for the better, was Jesus Christ. Which is probably where Dr. King came up with the idea. ??
So next time you are envited to a protest, (riot) by groups like ANTIFA, Black Lives Matter, or Politicians like Maxine Waters; who suggest that only violence will get their views heard and the changes they want made…
…think back to this RightWay article, and explain to them, the important right we all have to “peacably” assemble, and how effective it can be…and then respectfully decline their invitation.???❤??
*Keep watching The RightWay for our next segment in our learning series on the Constitution and the Bill of Rights; next we will tackle the Second Amendment.
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