Freedom And The Constitution Essays - Human Rights,

Freedom and the Constitution The First Amendment of the United States Constitution protects the right to freedom of religion and freedom of expression from government interference. Freedom of expression is made up of the explicit rights of freedom of speech, press, assembly and to petition the government for a redress of grievances, and the implied right of association and belief contained in the First Amendment. The Supreme Court interprets the extent of the protection afforded to these rights. The First Amendment has been interpreted by the Court as applying to the entire federal government although it is only expressly applicable to Congress. Furthermore, the Court has interpreted the due process clause of the Fourteenth Amendment as protecting the rights in the First Amendment from interference by state governments. Two clauses in the First Amendment guarantee freedom of religion. The establishment clause prohibits the government from passing legislation to establish an official religion or preferring one re ligion over another. It enforces the "separation of church and state. Some governmental activity related to religion has been declared constitutional by the Supreme Court. For example, providing bus transportation for parochial school students and the enforcement of "blue laws" is not prohibited. The free exercise clause prohibits the government, in most instances, from interfering with a persons practice of their religion. The most basic component of freedom of expression is the right of freedom of speech. The right of freedom of speech allows an individual to express themselves without interference or constraint by the government. The Supreme Court requires the government to provide substantial justification for the interference with the right of free speech if it attempts to regulate the content of the speech. A less stringent test is applied for content-neutral legislation. The Supreme Court has also recognized that the government may prohibit some speech that may cause a breach of the peace or cause violence. The right of free speech includes other mediums of expression that communicates a message. Despite popular misunderstanding the right of freedom of the press guaranteed by the first amendment is not very different from the right of freedom of speech. It allows an individual to express themselves through publication and dissemination. It is part of the constitutional protection of freedom of expression. It does not afford members of the media any special rights or privileges not afforded to citizens in general. The right to assemble allows people to gather for peaceful and lawful purposes. Implicit within this right is the right to association and belief. The Supreme Court has expressly recognized that a right to freedom of association and belief is implicit in the First, Fifth, and Fourteenth Amendments. This implicit right is limited to the right to associate for First Amendment purposes. It does not include a right of social association. The govern ment may prohibit people from knowingly associating in groups that engage and promote illegal activities. The right to associate also, generally, prohibits the government from requiring a group to register or disclose its members or from denying government benefits based on an individuals current or past membership in a particular group. There have been exceptions to this general rule when the Court has found that the governmental interests in disclosure/registration outweigh the interference with first amendment rights. The government may also, generally, not compel individuals to express themselves, hold certain beliefs, or belong to particular associations or groups. The right to petition the government for a redress of grievances guarantees people the right to ask the government to provide relief for a wrong through the courts (litigation) or other governmental action. It works with the right of assembly to allow people to join to seek change from the government.

English Oral GWTPE Essay

English Oral GWTPE Essay English Oral GWTPE Essay English Oral - The girl with the Pearl Earring Johannes Vermeer was a deep thinker. He knew this because his mother had told him one day after finding him sat round the back of the baker’s shop, hidden from view, staring at the plumes of smoke coming from the chimney of a neighbouring house. Vermeer hadn’t understood his mother’s anger and astonishment when she found him there; after all, he wasn’t doing anything wrong. Nevertheless she said, it was late, going on for sunset, and she hadn’t known where he was. He argued that he had only sat down for a minute to watch the smoke form different patterns against the sky; it was very clear that day, and although cold, without knowing it he’d been there for hours. Ten years on from that day, and his mother still worried about him. She worried about the long hours he worked at the apothecary, and the bruises that seemed to appear out of nowhere, marking his otherwise flawlessly pale skin. She had suggested that she should take a look at them, but Vermeer refused and tugged at the sleeves of his shirt, pulling them further down towards his wrists and hiding the purple blemishes. Early one cold winter morning, Vermeer set off on the short walk to the apothecary. As he breathed he could feel the sharp, icy air fill his lungs and he concentrated on the ground in front of him, so not to slip on the ice. In some ways he enjoyed being out so early; it was like making the first footprints in freshly laid snow. He arrived at the shop and entered through the back door, and still wearing his outdoor clothing, began his work, sweeping, putting in order jars and bottles, removing some of them from their places to dust the shelves, cleaning the weighing scales. It wasn’t a man’s work, his brother had told him, but Vermeer didn’t mind, one day he would become the apothecary himself, and not just the assistant. An hour later, the apothecary arrived and opened up the shop for business. He was a short, round little man with a bad temper that Vermeer knew only too well. Of course, Vermeer never challenged his master as he wanted to keep his job; he knew the small amount of money he earned was important to his mother. So he endured his master’s occasional fits of temper and did everything in his power to keep him happy. The day went smoothly and for once, his master sent him home early. Walking home by the canal, eyes fixed on the ground, something caught Vermeer’ eye. Lying on the ground in front of him was a shiny pearl earring. It looked so out of place, clean and beautiful, contrasted against the dark and dull ground, it could not be mistaken. Jeremias paused, bent down, and picked it up very carefully between his thumb and forefinger. He’d never seen anything like it. The pearl was large, bigger than he’d ever seen before, and as he turned it into the light, hundreds of colours came alive on its surface, shimmering and shining. It was entirely mesmerising. A shout awoke Vermeer from his dream-like state, and he looked up. ‘Oh! You there! Yes!’ Vermeer focused on the small woman hurrying toward him, her face was red and flustered, her hands stretched out in front of her. ‘You found it, you found my mistress’ pearl, thank you so much!’ gushed the woman, now standing very close to Vermeer, she reached out for the earring. Vermeer released the pearl from his delicate grip, and let it fall into the woman’s palm. Her fist closed tightly round it. ‘Thank you so much – erm?’ ‘Johannes, Johannesburg Vermeer’ stammered Vermeer. ‘Mr Vermeer, yes, my mistress will be so pleased, I’ll return it to her straight away. Thanks’ said the woman, without taking breath. She hurried away, and as Vermeer watched, she caught up with a young girl, no older than himself. She was all wrapped up in a blue cloak, and standing not far ahead of him. As the woman gestured toward Vermeer, who was still standing fixed in his spot, the girl lifted her eyes to look at him directly. Even from this distance Vermeer could tell she