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Inside January 27, 2004's Issue

-Opinions-

 

They're your rights: Don't leave home without 'em

By Lindy Dugger
[email protected]
Assistant Editor

Of all the amendments to the United States Constitution, the First Amendment seems to be by far the most discussed. And who'd have thought a single sentence could have so much power?

However, some people feel that it, like the rest of the Bill of Rights, is in a considerable Danger. People blame this on a variety of things: Evil, Apathy, the Greater Good, (ahem) The Patriot Act, to name a few. Take your pick.

But from a social standpoint it is We Ourselves that endanger these rights, and the beautiful irony of the situation, especially concerning the First Amendment, is that we do this mainly by the application and exercise of the very rights that are given. Once something is defined, it is limited. For example, as the courts rule on First Amendment cases and precedents are set, our once broad, all-inclusive rights necessarily become more specific and more limited.

We honor - we recognize - the Founding Fathers by plastering their faces on constantly changing currency and flimsy tri-color plastic rulers passed out in elementary schools (yeah, you know the ones I'm talking about). But how do we recognize The People?

The People got what they deserved from the Founding Fathers because essentially The People were many and the Fathers were few (and that makes me feel good). But slowly we're losing what they worked so hard to give us: our Rights. Socially there is no getting around it. However, Apathy and lack of education CAN be more or less avoided.

Know your Rights. Read them to your kids. Hang a copy on your fridge. Familiarize yourself with new court rulings. Hell, dig through the junk drawer and find those old rulers. They might be good for more than just smacking each other with when the professor isn't looking.

Know your Rights. Because if people don't care, people will forget and eventually their rights will go away.

Because without them life won't be the same.

Because even though you're all grown up the �Because I said so!� reason will still be used on you more than ever, except this time by the Government.

Because you might not be allowed to pick your Buddha.

Because your kids might never get the opportunity to beat each other with those rulers.

Because you might not even be able to read an article like this.

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