An Nguyen and Taylor Phelps

Mr. Troy Hoehne

Contemporary Global Issues, Period 3
20 November 2015
The Voice of America
The currently raging war taking place in the Middle East has already taken over 200,000
lives. In this war, shootings, artillery attacks, kidnappings, and toxic weapons are only some of
the ways ones life could be ended at any moment (Yourish et al.). The war began with uprisings
against the government that were answered by police brutality, which ultimately was stripping
people of their right to assemble or voice their opinions. Then the fight eventually became a war
of religion, meaning that people no longer had the freedom to worship whatever or whomever
they wanted without fearing for their lives (Rodgers et al.). With all of this violence, light is
shed on the importance of some of the crucial rights that every single person on earth is entitled
to: the rights demanded by the United States Constitutions First Amendment.
The First Amendment provides a few of the most important and complicated human
rights. These rights include the freedom of speech, religion, press, peaceful assembly, and the
right to petition the government ("U.S. Constitutional Amendments"). Without these rights, how
Americans live their lives today would drastically change. The freedom of religion allows the
people to have an opinion, a personal comfort, and the ability to voice themselves. The freedom
of speech allows them to voice their opinions and their feelings, the freedom of press allows the
ability to report both opinions and findings, while the freedom of peaceful assembly allows them
to physically show their opinions. In addition, if they feel as though they are being threatened or
are uncomfortable with the governmental law, they are able to petition these laws. Without these
rights, humans, both individually and as a whole, lose part of themselves. They lose their ability
to be unique.

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The First Amendment is still valid today but needs to be more clear and concise. With
the increase in technology, including social media, it needs to be made clear as to how the First
Amendment is applied in these instances. Some individuals unjustly claim the freedom of
speech to account for their actions, while others are attacked for their views. Professor Robert
Post claimed that the government has to rethink what counts as speech (Drum) so that it can
still be valid in present times. The First Amendment includes the most important rights, which,
due to their importance, causes them to be some of the most complicated rights there are. In
order to cut down on the confusion, the First Amendment needs to be explained for the current
times.
Because the importance of the First Amendment cannot be matched, its power is
sometimes abused. On June 30, 2015, Donald J. Trump and Miss Universe L.P. filed a $500
million lawsuit against a television network named Univision following its decline to broadcast
the Miss USA and Miss Universe pageants after Trump made controversial remarks during a
presidential campaign speech (Donald Trump). According to the suit, the networks motive
was that it [did] not agree with Mr. Trumps longstanding views or statements, all of which are
protected by the First Amendment (Donald Trump). This fallacy affects the right to freedom
of speech unfavorably because Trumps ambition to sue is not backed up by the rights outlined in
the amendment. The First Amendment states that Congress shall make no law (U.S.
Constitutional Amendments) that suppresses ones freedom of speech; it does not claim that
private companies have no right to censor ones words. In other words, the lawsuit is guilty of
making a hasty generalization. It indirectly states that because Congress cannot abridge his
freedom of speech, neither can anyone else, including Univision. Additionally, the company is
protected by the freedom of the press, which allows them to refrain from televising anything they

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do not agree with. The only way Univision could be at fault is if its contract with Trump and
Miss Universe promises that the pageant will be aired no matter what, which is unrelated to the
First Amendment.
The First Amendment allows humankind to be themselves and to voice their opinions.
Because of the freedoms that it includes, it is the building block for the rest of human rights and
many other happenings. The First Amendment is just one example of how, despite sometimes
being used in the wrong way, basic freedoms are still very important to everyday life.

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Bibliography
"Donald Trump and the First Amendment in His $500 Million Lawsuit." Constitution Daily.
The National Constitution Center, 01 July 2015. Web. 19 Nov. 2015.
Drum, Kevin. "First Amendment Law Is Facing Some Very Big Changes." Mother Jones.
N.p., 17 Aug. 2015. Web. 20 Nov. 2015.
Rodgers, Lucy, David Gritten, James Offer, and Patrick Asare. "Syria: The Story of the
Conflict." BBC News. BBC, 9 Oct. 2015. Web. 19 Nov. 2015.
"The 6 Best and Worst Countries for Religious Freedom." LDS. N.p., 22 Apr. 2015. Web. 20
Nov. 2015.
"U.S. Constitutional Amendments." Findlaw. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Nov. 2015.
Yourish, Karen, K.K. Rebecca Lai, and Derek Watkins. "How Syrians Are Dying." The New
York Times. The New York Times, 13 Sept. 2015. Web. 19 Nov. 2015.