Most Americans take freedom for granted. They figure that it has always been there so why do we need to appreciate it? According to Writing & Edition School News most Americans wouldn’t ratify the first amendment if it was put up for vote. Living without our basic freedoms of religion, press, assembly, speech, and petition, our government would be totally controlling. Everything we see, and everything we do would be monitored and censored by the government. Without this first amendment, this paper probably would not be able to get published and the citizens of the United States would not know about any of the government scandals. The Watergate scandal would not be as well known if it wasn’t for the courage of two reporters digging for the truth and then being able to publish their material. “Were it left to me to decide whether we should have a government without newspapers, or newspapers without a government, I should not hesitate a moment to prefer the latter” (Thomas Jefferson). We believe that we too would prefer a newspaper rather than a government, not because we’re partial to the newspaper because we are writing in one, but because the newspapers are not afraid to tell the truth. You can never get in trouble for actually speaking the truth, or at least you shouldn’t. That is why to reporters, the first amendment is their life line. It allows them to write the truth.

The first amendment also protects the rights of people to gather in protest of something, as long as it is peaceful. It also allows citizens to petition to the government if they believe that they have been wronged in some way.

The freedom to express your own beliefs is a freedom that is very important. Belief in something keeps our hopes up for a brighter future. If not for this hope most of us could not hope for success or improvement, for what does it matter. If nothing is believed then there can be no dreams. So with this freedom no matter what your beliefs are, we can tackle our obstacles and fulfill our dreams.

The rights the first amendment provides were rights not earned easily, yet many Americans take them or granted. People are still working and dying to give us freedom. When the founding fathers sought to give us these freedoms they were committing treason. It could have cost them their lives, but they still did it to ensure the safety of mankind and the freedom of their families. We need to remember those men, and all those that serve our country to ensure our survival and our freedom.