Paul Simon
2008-11-14 19:35:21 UTC
Americas forgotten freedoms
A survey by the First Amendment Center in the US has reached the
shocking conclusion that most American citizens dont know the five
basic freedoms enshrined in the constitution.
The study found that no more than 3% of Americans remember petition
among the First Amendments five basic freedoms.
However, freedom of speech was remembered by the majority of
respondents - 56%.
The others freedoms enshrined in the constitution appeared to have
made little impressino: freedom of religion was named by 15%; the same
percentage remembered press freedom as a constitutional right while
just 14% 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 years 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 indivisual states with a strong
federal governmental centre.
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 but 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.
The annual State of the First Amendment survey, held by the First
Amendment Center (www.firstamendmentcenter.org), questions adult
Americans on their attitude towards the rights spelled out in the
First Amendment. This year it found the following:
39% would extend to subscription cable and satellite television the
governments current authority to regulate content on over-the-air
broadcast television.
54% would continue IRS regulations that bar religious leaders from
openly endorsing political candidates from the pulpit without
endangering the tax-exempt status of their organizations.
66% say the government should be able to require television
broadcasters to offer an equal allotment of time to conservative and
liberal broadcasters; 62% would apply that same requirement to
newspapers, which never have had content regulated by the government.
38% would permit government to require broadcasters to report a
specified amount of positive news in return for licenses to operate.
31% would not permit musicians to sing songs with lyrics that others
might find offensive.
68% favor government restrictions on campaign contributions by
private companies, and 55% favor such limits on amounts individuals
can contribute to someone elses campaign.
Thus, a large number of Americans concede that in specific cases the
federal government can be involved or even control individual
freedoms.
The most shocking conclusion of the survey was that most of Americans
could not name the five basic freedoms enshrined in the constitution.
A survey by the First Amendment Center in the US has reached the
shocking conclusion that most American citizens dont know the five
basic freedoms enshrined in the constitution.
The study found that no more than 3% of Americans remember petition
among the First Amendments five basic freedoms.
However, freedom of speech was remembered by the majority of
respondents - 56%.
The others freedoms enshrined in the constitution appeared to have
made little impressino: freedom of religion was named by 15%; the same
percentage remembered press freedom as a constitutional right while
just 14% 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 years 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 indivisual states with a strong
federal governmental centre.
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 but 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.
The annual State of the First Amendment survey, held by the First
Amendment Center (www.firstamendmentcenter.org), questions adult
Americans on their attitude towards the rights spelled out in the
First Amendment. This year it found the following:
39% would extend to subscription cable and satellite television the
governments current authority to regulate content on over-the-air
broadcast television.
54% would continue IRS regulations that bar religious leaders from
openly endorsing political candidates from the pulpit without
endangering the tax-exempt status of their organizations.
66% say the government should be able to require television
broadcasters to offer an equal allotment of time to conservative and
liberal broadcasters; 62% would apply that same requirement to
newspapers, which never have had content regulated by the government.
38% would permit government to require broadcasters to report a
specified amount of positive news in return for licenses to operate.
31% would not permit musicians to sing songs with lyrics that others
might find offensive.
68% favor government restrictions on campaign contributions by
private companies, and 55% favor such limits on amounts individuals
can contribute to someone elses campaign.
Thus, a large number of Americans concede that in specific cases the
federal government can be involved or even control individual
freedoms.
The most shocking conclusion of the survey was that most of Americans
could not name the five basic freedoms enshrined in the constitution.