Falwell's Argumentative Essay: The Bill Of Rights

1563 Words4 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: The bill of rights and its effects on united states contemporary laws

The Bill of Rights had an original intention to protect the American citizen from having the body of government create a monarchical grasp on them; however, the Bill of Rights also served as protection against civil complications between citizens. This is especially true when the 1st amendment right to freedom of speech is on the hot seat. The freedom of speech claim in the first amendment should have an asterisk next to it, simply because there are certain limitations to this freedom. Additionally, if these limitations are broken, they can come with a consequence. For example, any person walking around in a building can not yell, “I have a bomb!” and expect to get away with it. The drawn line where freedom of speech becomes forbidden speech …show more content…

The case of Hustler Magazine v. Falwell is an outstanding example of establishing Judicial Review for the benefit of American citizens who wish to share ideas, opinions, and other forms of speech with one another through media. Television shows such as South Park, the Simpsons, and Family Guy have the case of Hustler Magazine v. Falwell to thank for establishing a standard in media law that proves parody can be a phenomenal way to both entertain and enlighten viewers with ideas thought up by the shows writers and creators. At the time, the most surprising part about this case was not the advertisement itself, but the fact that the 1st amendment and the right to parody protected such an advertisement from any type of consequence that resulted in breaking the law. Yes, Falwell did receive compensation, but it was not because Hustler Magazine or Larry Flynt did anything more than hurt his feelings and reputation. To be compared to an event of today, the uncountable uses of Donald Trump or Hillary Clinton in media today can not be proven as defamatory of breaking the 1st amendment because of the strong rules of protecting opinion of the American citizen, which comes as a right thanks to the Bill of Rights. The case does show a flaw on the American

Show More
Related

  • Examining the Modern Day Relevance of the Bill of Rights

    1620 Words  | 4 Pages

    The Constitution lays out the rights and obligations of the newly formed United States government. But, what of the rights and obligations of its citizens? Starting in 1791 only two years after the Constitution was ratified the Constitution began to evolve and this process continues to this day. The first ten amendments to the Constitution are known as the Bill of Rights. This Bill of Rights outlines the protections which citizens have from the government of the United States. The question raised in the title of this paper is; Are the Bill of Rights, written well over 200 years ago still relevant today? Of course they are and probably even more so. To illustrate this fact we will examine each of the ten amendments rewrite each one using common everyday language of today and if possible discuss why this was important in 1791 and why we may or may not need this document in writing today. In restating each amendment I will try to write it as if it is a brand new document, which is a stretch to say the least. With out the struggle of the colonies through war and abuse by the English Monarchy would one have the foresight to see how a government may take for granted the rights of its citizenry?

    Read More

  • English Bill Of Rights Essay

    241 Words  | 1 Pages

    The English Bill of Rights is an Act of the Parliament of England that deals with constitutional matters and sets out certain basic civil rights. This constitution was passed on December 16, 1689.The Bill was passed to declare laws and liberties of the people. Also the people wanted separation of powers and limits the of power to the king and queen. It guarantees the rights of enhancing the democratic election and to get more freedom of speech. No armies should be raised in peacetime, no taxes can be levied, without the authority of parliament. Laws should not be dispensed with, or suspended, without the consent of parliament and no excessive fines should imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted. King James the 2nd, had abused his

    Read More

  • Modern Interpretation of The First Amendment

    1663 Words  | 4 Pages

    The first Amendment of the United States Constitution says; “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.”[1] Our fore fathers felt that this statement was plain enough for all to understand, however quite often the United States government deems it necessary to make laws to better define those rights that are stated in the Constitution. Today the framers would be both encouraged and discouraged by our modern interpretation the First Amendment the United States Constitution.

    Read More

  • Annotated Bibliography Should A Person's Freedom Of Speech Be Limited In Any Way?

    1153 Words  | 3 Pages

    One key to the first amendment of the United states constitution is the right to free speech. Freedom of speech is what separates America than other countries around the world that forbid freedom of speech rights. Freedom of speech has been in our constitution since the year 1791. When James Madison “the father of the constitution” wrote the bill of rights he saw potential and that it would make the country more freedom filled than other countries. The land of the free is what the United States is nicknamed and it 's because of our rights to express ourselves as freely as we desire.

    Read More

  • Unalienable Rights Essay

    504 Words  | 2 Pages

    According to Thomas Jefferson, all men are created equal with certain unalienable rights. Unalienable rights are rights given to the people by their Creator rather than by government. These rights are inseparable from us and can’t be altered, denied, nullified or taken away by any government, except in extremely rare circumstances in which the government can take action against a particular right as long as it is in favor of the people’s safety. The Declaration of Independence of the United States of America mentions three examples of unalienable rights: “Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness”. I believe these rights, since they are acquired by every human being from the day they are conceived, should always be respected, but being realistic, most of the time, the government intervenes and either diminishes or

    Read More

  • Patriot Act Violates Civil Liberties

    1841 Words  | 4 Pages

    The First Amendment protects our rights of free speech and assembly, the independence of the press, and prohibits official establishment or unfair criticism of any particular religion. Free speech rights can be thought of as having two parts, the right to have free access to ideas, and the right to express ideas freely. The right to calm assembly goes with free speech given that demonstrations and other political activity are protected as expressive behavior. While government actions threaten all these rights stated by the First Amendment, it is our free speech and assembly rights which are most at risk. The USA PATRIOT Act contains provisions that will criminalize people's legitimate expressions of their political views. For example, the Act creates a new category of crime; domestic terrorism blurs the line between speech and criminal activity. Section 802 of the Act defines domestic terrorism as "acts dangerous to human life that are a violation of criminal laws" that "appear to be inten...

    Read More

  • The Bill of Rights

    616 Words  | 2 Pages

    In the summer of 1787, delegates from the 13 states convened in Philadelphia and drafted a remarkable blueprint for self-government, the Constitution of the United States. The first draft set up a system of checks and balances that included a strong executive branch, a representative legislature and a federal judiciary. The Constitution was remarkable, but deeply flawed. For one thing, it did not include a specific declaration, or bill, of individual rights. It specified what the government could do but did not say what it could not do. For another, it did not apply to everyone. The "consent of the governed" meant propertied white men only. The Bill of Rights did not come from a desire to protect the liberties won in the American Revolution, but rather from a fear of the powers of the new federal government.

    Read More

  • 1984 by George Orwell: The End of Freedom of Speech

    1600 Words  | 4 Pages

    Based on the First Amendment, the government may not exercise any activities that interference freedom of speech of an individual. For Americans, freedom of speech is clearly become the most basic freedom. Everyone has always thinks freedom of speech is a basic right that everyone automatically has when they were born; on the other hand, freedom of speech is experiencing serious growing pains.

    Read More

  • Informative Essay: The First Amendment Rights

    747 Words  | 2 Pages

    The First Amendment is what we chose because it covers good areas (topics) that are occurring in the world on a daily basis. Many people like the items that The First Amendment covers, and some people don't like them. Either way there are many other amendments that have been ratified by the two-thirds of the House and Senate. There are ten amendments in the constitution, but there are 17 other amendments that aren't in the constitution. Therefore, in total there are 27 amendments.

    Read More

  • The Bill of Rights

    1280 Words  | 3 Pages

    The Bill of Rights was created because the states believed that the federal government would have too much power and they wanted to have more individual rights. Around this time the colonies had just been under the British rule, which oppressed the people and give them very limited freedoms. The states or the colonies were kind of afraid that this would happen all over again within this new government forming in the form of the Constitution. Most of the state at this time believed that the Constitution alone was enough but others felt that they needed more assurances. In the end, the federal government complied with these states and gave them the Bill of Rights.

    Read More

  • The Five Freedoms Of The First Amendment

    2069 Words  | 5 Pages

    The Bill of Rights includes several amendments describing the rights that people have as well as the things that are prohibited in our nation. The First Amendment of the Bill of Rights states that “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 the redress of grievances.” This Amendment lists the five freedoms that all of the United States citizens have been given. (U.S. Const. amend. I)

    Read More

  • Bill of Rights

    1623 Words  | 4 Pages

    The purpose of The Bill of Rights is to protect U.S. citizens from abuse of power that may be committed by the different areas of their government. It does this by expressing clear restrictions on the three braches of government laid out previously in the Constitution. As stated by Hugo Black, Associate Justice to the Supreme Court: “The bill of rights protects people by clearly stating what government can’t do by describing ‘the procedures that governmen...

    Read More

  • Persuasive Essay On The First Amendment

    1303 Words  | 3 Pages

    Our founding fathers wrote the Constitution and the Bill of Rights to protect our most basic rights as citizens of the United States, and although creating the Constitution was an arduous effort, eventually the new Americans came to an agreement over what was included. “The Bill of Rights — the first 10 amendments to the Constitution — went into effect on Dec. 15, 1791, when the state of Virginia ratified it, giving the bill the majority of ratifying states required to protect citizens from the power of the federal government.” (First Amendment Center). After the first amendment went into effect, all religious minorities were now protected from persecution, and people could freely speak their

    Read More

  • The Bill of Rights

    1353 Words  | 3 Pages

    We live in the 21st century, where most Americans mind their own business but take for granted our God given rights. Not only God given rights but also those established by our founding forefathers. This paper will illustrate and depict the importance of the original problems faced when adopting the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. It will discuss the importance of the first amendment, the due process of the 4th, 5th, 6th, and the 8th amendments. Last but not least the importance of what is known as the “second Bill of Rights” (14th amendment).

    Read More

  • How To Secure The Blessings Of Liberty

    612 Words  | 2 Pages

    Yet, still even with this, the American people still needed individual protection from the government. With this being said, the Bill of Rights was created to further protect the liberties of American citizens. The Bill of Rights is a list of ten amendments that would guarantee the rights of the people (Bill of Rights). This document was created to ensure the government did not get too much power, but current day it can be observed how the government is trying to clip away at these amendments, trying to convince the people that they are not necessary. This can be seen with the two most currently most debated amendments, the first and second (Discussing Controversial Topics). The First Amendment, as stated in the Bill of Rights, is as so, “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

    Read More

More about Falwell's Argumentative Essay: The Bill Of Rights

Open Document