from the movie "Nothing But The Truth"
The First Amendment of the United States Constitution grants its citizens the right to "Freedom of Speech." This right to speak freely, without censorship, limitation or both extends to nonverbal acts of seeking, receiving and imparting information or ideas. It was probably chosen as the first because of its importance in the establishment and continuancy of a free democracy.
As we see citizens of countries in the Arab world risking lives to express their anger and frustration toward their governments, we in the United States should be thankful that the founding fathers of this nation had the forethought to include such a freedom as Free Speech in our constitution.
Our First Amendment right hasn't always been honorably upheld in this country, but I shudder to think where we'd be without it today. For it is a necessary protective shield against a government's abuse of power over those it governs. It forces the powerful to be "Accountable" for actions that may negatively effect the powerless. The Internet as we know it today could never have evolved without a First Amendment foundation.
In the movie clip above, actor Alan Alda's plea to the supreme court to rule in favor of his client's right to "Freedom of Speech" in a case where National Security may have been threatened is superb.
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