Monday, October 8, 2012

Here's the deal with the 1st Amendment

The 1st Amendment has alot of stuff jammed in. Why? 1a) The Constitution said about religion only that it would not be a test for office. But what if a lot of Methodists got in power and wanted to enforce their beliefs as laws? Ok we need to say that can't do that. But could we still burn heretics? Nope. No??? Where you gonna draw the line? See 1b.
1b) But with the revolution just over, they held that people should be able to say what they think. No burning anybody for what they say. And not just say, but write, using symbols like the alphabet. Or other symbols, like an armband. Or burning the flag, a modern blasphemy. And then what? See 1c.
1c) So once you have people talking, and if they decide on something, then they have a right to complain to the government, and the government has some minimal obligation to listen, or at least not shoot them, or lock them up.
Out of a feeling of propriety, and in recognition of the inability to formalize revolution,
they decided to put the next clause in the 2nd amendment.

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