The 1st Amendment

Source: Obama Tries to Calm Religious Tensions: By: Helene Cooper September 10, 2010
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/11/us/politics/11obama.html?_r=1&scp=2&sq=religious%20freedom&st=cse

Constitutional Connection: Amendment 1: Freedom of Religion, Press, Expression.
"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."



Explanation of Connection:

While our nation is filled with different nationalities and religious backgrounds. We still have prejudice and unconstitutional behavior that is carried out by our own citizens. This article is about Obama and his attempts in trying to calm down tensions expressed by Muslim and Non-Muslim US citizens. The Muslim community has been attacked verbally and physically by our non-muslim US citizens, who are outraged at their attempt to build a mosque near Groundzero, 9/11 memorial site. Even though the dispute was overall peaceful besides two quarrels outside a NATO reconstruction site that ended with 12 people wounded, 3 critcal, and one who was killed.

This article clearly demonstrates Amendment 1 of the United States Constitution. Which states "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of a religion." This article shows how the constitution is still in action today, because the article was informing the reader of how US citizens who weren't Muslim were trying to stop Muslim US citizens from building a religous site in rememberence of 9/11. This act was a direct breaking of the 1st Amendment which gives every US citizen the freedom of religion, press, and speech. President Obama being the Executive branch head, also reminded the other US citizen of their unconstitutional behavior.

I couldn't phanthom the idea of not having the 1st Amendment in place. In this article Muslim citizens of the US were being stripped of their constitutional right to freely express their religion, by building a mosque near the 9/11 memorial. Many people were outraged by this, but the fact still stands that the constitution doesn't work to benefit just Christians or a certain raice, it is a universal document of principles all US citizens should follow as well as be frequently used to protect our rights. If the 1st Amendment was no longer in action this somewhat calm dispute could have ended in an unnecessary bloodshed.