Wednesday, November 7, 2012

Is the Constitution Still Relevant?


Here is my son's paper he wrote for his JROTC freshman class. He wasn't chosen to be in the top 10 to be recorded and entered in the annual contest only because his teacher said he spoke too fast. I think next time we'll have him practice it at home and time it. This is his first assignment for public school of which I did not assign to him. I think he did a pretty good job. His personality comes through his writing for sure!

       

         Is the Constitution Still Relevant?                     

by Jacob Smith

Is the Constitution still relevant? This can be a very difficult question, however, I think the Constitution still protects my rights. A lot of people would say that the Constitution is losing its power. Now that is partially true in some cases, however, I will tell you my thoughts on this subject. For instance, many kids still in school might say that they don't have all the rights that they think they deserve. Many will say that it is their freedom of speech that has been violated. I however have thought this over and have seen that the reasoning behind the banishing of rude or demeaning language in schools is for public safety. Now the public safety lies mostly in the public school system, it is there to protect the students from offensive language and harm. Now on the other hand, when you are an adult and not in the public school building, you have rights that allow you to speak any kind of language that you want. It may be disrespectful to other people but you have a right to talk in that manner.  It is the first amendment that allows to have this freedom of speech. We also can see that the Constitution is still relevant because if it were not I might not even be able to say this out loud to all of you! We also have the right to choose the line or kind of work that we do. So if I want to be a carpenter then all I have to do is get a certification and I can work. If I want to be an engineer then all I have to do is get a degree in that line of work. I even could be President if I wanted to, although I would have to be a U.S. citizen my whole life. The first amendment also has the right of the freedom of the press. The freedom of the press is the right that allows us to be able to express and or communicate our products or information to the general public. Speaking of general public, on October 15th through October 20th, there was an Occupy Maine Movement that was going on at Lincoln Park. The occupation was broken up by law officials because it was violating the rules and closing time of the park. Some by standers say that the occupation was getting rid of the beautiful landscape that they said they enjoyed. This proves that the Constitution is still relevant because if it wasn't, the occupiers wouldn't have made these actions, at least not without thought of persecution. There also is the second amendment that allows us to have the right to bear arms. This right allows us to carry or own a fire arm as personal protection or other uses for a fire arm. In the past, people have tried to get rid of this right as to stop the violence of crime and murders, however, if you were a criminal, you would not obey the law and would obtain a firearm through illegal sources We also have freedom of religion, that allows us to choose if we believe in God, or if we don't. So as I look at just a small fraction of these rights, I would have to say yes, the Constitution is still relevant.


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