1st Amendment

Amendment 1 – Freedom of Religion, Press, Expression. Ratified 12/15/1791. Note 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.

Perhaps everyone needs to go to this site and read our constitution and the amendments that go with it.  People have the right to peaceably assemble and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.  It says so right here in the first amendment. 

There have been a lot of stories on Facebook and in the news about how the police are treating the protestors for Occupy Wall Street (and wherever else they are).  I listened to Sheryl on the Talk today defending the actions of the police and defending police procedures. 

If we weren’t allowed to peaceably assemble and protest then Women’s Rights and the Civil Rights Movements would never have occurred.  Occupy Wall Street is saying enough with Corporate America running our elections and our government.  Our government is for living breathing human beings not for corporate entities. 

However, that doesn’t matter or it shouldn’t matter what they are protesting.  The KKK is allowed to protest and has walked into places that were highly offensive to people.  So long as they are peaceably assembling it is allowed according to the first amendment.

The students at UC Davis today were assaulted on the order of a chancellor, someone who should have had the best interest of these young adults in mind, and carried out by police who didn’t stop to think whether their “orders” were right or not. 

One of the hardest things in life to do is what is right particularly to do it in the face of someone in authority saying do it or else.  I realize that in the military and in the police orders have to be followed but so do moral and ethical codes. 

If you don’t like what they are protesting, go out with signs and counter what they are doing.  Here in the US though, you can’t stop them from protesting and if you continue to try then you might as well throw the constitution out the window and put the US up for sale.