The First Amendment protects a certain amount (many believe far too much) of exuberance (many would use a stronger word) in this nation’s discourse and entertainment. Americans are surrounded by tension, strife and fear, and in order to bring more calm and order into their lives many would do almost anything – including limiting what the First Amendment protects.
Because the First Amendment protects all other freedoms we enjoy, it is one of the most powerful of our constitutional guarantees. And because it protects beliefs and expression that may offend our deepest convictions, it is one of our most fragile. It should come as no surprise, then, that day-in and day-out in the life of this nation the First Amendment’s five fundamental freedoms of conscience, speech, press, assembly and petition are constantly being tested.
These challenges to First Amendment freedoms visit every community. And no matter who you are, where you live or where your sympathies lie on the religious, political or social spectrum, ultimately you will be affected by these conflicts.
Living in a democracy, Americans are accustomed to the rule of the majority and the preferences of the mainstream. First Amendment freedoms are so often tested because they are a caution to that majoritarian impulse. They ensure that individual voices are not silenced and that unpopular views are not suppressed.
Still we persist in giving in to the impulse in an attempt to make others think like the rest of us, speak like the rest of us and believe like the rest of us – or keep quiet.
Thus, we found ourselves in many pitched battles over freedom of expression during the past year. Some of us wanted to restrict or change the content of textbooks to suit our separate ways of viewing the world............
