Bill Of Rights Essay, Research Paper

The Declaration of Independence is the document, written by Thomas Jefferson, that

separated us from British rule and gave us Americans our freedom. The Bill of Rights is the first

ten amendments that protect and guarantee us this treasure we call freedom. These sacred

documents have given us so much, but do we really give our undying commitment and dedication

to every nook, cranny, and article of these papers? I think not. If you can show me a person who

has not in one way or another disagreed and or shown apprehension towards a specific part of the

Bill of Rights, then I can show you a baby who has not yet left the womb.

Everything we say and do does not always conform to the Bill of Rights. Many of these

issues test or push the Bill of Rights to the limit. For example, gun control. This is a hot topic

that is constantly debated and is also a very arguable issue. The Constitution, specifically the Bill

of Rights, states that we, as Americans, have the right to bear arms; however, many bills have

been submitted to Congress to limit and or abolish our rights to possess firearms. Hey, make up

your minds, can we have guns or not? Another hot issue is the Ku Klux Klan. By law, the KKK

has the right to march down the streets and publicly demonstrate its hate towards the African

American society. Now, just because many of us do not approve of or even accept this group as

part of our society, does it give us the right to stone and threaten them? No, it does not. Even

though it is an obvious fact that the KKK does harm to the black community, our Bill of Rights

protects them.

The first amendment gives us freedom of religion, speech, press, peaceful assembly, and

the petition of government. This is probably the most celebrated amendment of the constitution.

It is also the amendment of which people are most often deprived. When it comes to freedom of

speech and press alike, people are constantly given limits by higher authorities as to what they can

say or write. Whether it is damaging towards a person or organization, people have a right to

make it known, as long as the truth is spoken. Correct me if I am wrong, but when limits are

placed on what a person can say, are they really given freedom of speech? Not by a long shot.

It is instances like this that totally contradict and disregard our Bill of Rights.

In certain ways, legislating morality absolutely shatters the Bill of Rights. It is the

government s way of controlling what we do and how we act. To an extent, this control is

understandable, but when it moves into things like homosexuality and pornography, it is just

crossing the line.

Decisions decisions. Just how can one decide? Majority rule is how we, the United

States, have made decisions for hundreds of years. Hey, it is even the method we use to select the

leader of our entire free nation. However, some issues are better off left undecided than to do so

by majority rule. Controversial issues like abortion, the burning of the flag, and gun control are

prime examples of topics that should be left untouched by majority rule. The main problem with

majority rule in controversial issues is that too many people are left unsatisfied. This can result in

further problems, and the process is started all over again. We really don t need the extra hassle, I

mean, can t we all just get along?