The First Amendment is the foundation of an open society. Two of the five protections guaranteed by the First Amendment -- freedom of speech and freedom of the press -- help ensure that we provide citizens with a "marketplace of ideas" free from censorship. Yet the right to free expression often comes into conflict with other rights, especially when it infringes on the safety or morality of others. Yelling "fire" in a crowded theatre, for example, is not protected by the First Amendment. Neither is child pornography or material that is considered obscene in nature. This is why the First Amendment is not just a static document that was written by our forefathers over 200 years ago. Because society and technology change and evolve, the First Amendment is continually challenged by cases that need to be interpreted by the courts.
Click here to access the link to the T-shirt story we discussed in class. Does it meet the Tinker standard of "substantial disruption"? Does the school have the right to forbid this 6th grade student from wearing an anti-abortion shirt? Or should he have a right to wear it under the First Amendment? You be the judge.
The First Amendment is often problematic because it leaves questions of exactly what is protected speech open to debate. Yet the many freedoms it guarantees far outweigh its flaws. Here is a good example that illustrates why. A Florida pastor recently stirred up tremendous controversy when he threatened to burn copies of the Quran, the Muslim holy book, to protest plans to build an Islamic center in New York City near where terrorists brought down the World Trade Center nine years ago. He later backed out of his threat. Under the Constitution, he does have the right to burn the Quran. But should he? Read this column for an interesting analysis of the incident.
About the burning of the Quran: I strongly believe he shouldn't have done it. Even though he never followed out with his threat, doing something so disrespectful to an entire culture and nonethelass on such an important and sad day in the history of the United States would have caused a great unsettling of the peace.
ReplyDeleteThe sixth grader does have the right to wear the anti-abortion t-shirt under the First Amendment because the Supreme Court states that your 1st Amendment rights don't go away when you step into a classroom. Any other child has the right to wear a pro-choice t-shirt as well. Also when the pastor wanted to burn the Quran, he did have the right to. Although, it is not what he should do because it is disrespectful to Muslims and gives a bad name to other pastors out there that would never do anything like that.
ReplyDeleteI strongly agree with Balkin's article on the burning of the Quran. However, I believe the optimal response would have been if the pastor's own parish told him that his speech was unacceptable, and if the rest of the country ignored him. Because the President has cautioned the pastor, the pastor is now the subject of much publicity.
ReplyDeleteI think T.A's shirt would cause substantial disruption not because the other sixth graders would cause a problem, but because other parents might see the shirt and complain. The school has a policy against wearing shirts that display inappropriate content, so I believe T.A is violating the policy as well, and that her mom was completely overreacting.
In the case of TA and the anti-abortion shirt, I can see both sides of the argument. I think that if the school's policy was not defined enough. Who is going to be the judge of what will and will not cause a disruption. I agree with the article about the pastor. He was very wrong to make this threat and I am very happy that he backed down on his threat.
ReplyDeleteI believe that T.A. has the right to wear the anti-abortion shirt because the school's policy was not clearly defined, and mentioned nothing about wearing political shirts. The other things that are listed in the school's policy as inappropriate are things that promote tobacco, drugs, alcohol, sex, graphic shirts, ect. It Mentions nothing about anything political. The school should actually be glad he is involved in politics at all.
ReplyDeleteI agree with the CNN Editorial. I believe that the pastor was well within his rights to threaten to burn the flag, and the public had the right to call him out on it. It would be completely unnecessary to form laws banning these things, because the pastor only brought shame to himself, his church, and his religion. I strongly believe that it is up to the PEOPLE to decide what is appropriate to them, and it is not the governments responsibility or even within their powers to tell us what we should be able say, as long as no other people are physically harmed. It is necessary for a society to make decisions for itself as opposed to relying on an interfering government.
I believe that the sixth grader had a right to wear the pro life t-shirt, however, I do not think it was wise of the student's parents to allow him to wear it to a public middle school where he would be scrutinized by both fellow students and staff. The parents should not have been blind to the fact that it would cause a substantial amount of uproar, and the young student will now be subject to remarks and comments by other students, and maybe even staff. I am a pro life young woman myself, but I believe there are other effective ways to stand up for my beliefs rather than wear a graphic t shirt to a public place.
ReplyDeleteI believe that the sixth grader has the right to ware and believe whatever he wants, but I don't think it was very appropriate to ware a shirt like that at a public school. His parents should have known that sending their child in an anti abortion shirt to a public school,would cause some problems. I think the school had the right to say that he can't ware that. He goes to a public school ware people have different beliefs, and waring a shirt like that could cause a major disruption. Plus most sixth graders don't know a lot about abortion. It was probably not his belief but more his parents belief. I also agree with what Julia said about other ways to show that you are pro life.
ReplyDeleteRegarding the article about T.A., I believe that students have the right to express their own opinions freely. However, as a sixth grader, many students at that age may not have a specific viewpoint on such a controversial topic. In this situation, I believe that the school was correct in their decision. If not addressed, parents may have seen such a shirt as inappropriate to both their child and others which could as a result cause an outbreak among them. But if it were to have occurred in a high school, I believe a student has the right to wear a Pro-Life shirt just as much as another student has the right to wear a Pro-Choice shirt.
ReplyDeleteYet in the second article, I found it very unsettling that the First Amendment protects those would go to such lengths as burning the Quran or even the American Flag. Although we are granted certain rights as Americans, a line must be drawn when it has gone too far. As a United States citizen, you should embrace other cultures as well as your own instead of looking down upon them with hate and spite.
I believe the school had the right to ask the student to not wear the shirt. If the school deemed it was not an appropriate thing for other students to see, or that it might distract the students from learning I think it is acceptable for them to politely ask her to remove it.
ReplyDeleteI believe the child with the Abortion T shirt had every right to wear the shirt. It wasn't graphic, and didn't use any profanity; it simply displayed her beliefs in a non voilent way. As long as she didn't try to start a rally because of the shirt, she shouldn't have been reprimanded. While it is strange that a 6th grader would have such a strong opinion about a mature topic like this, if it is her opinion she has the right to display it on her shirt.
ReplyDeleteI think the Preacher made the right decision in not burning the Quran because even though he had the right to, it is without a doubt the wrong thing to do. Not only because he is preaching intolerance by doing so, but because that gives the world a hateful image of America. While he is only one man with very few followers, he would have made international news where people would only see his views and actions and cast a stereotype on all Americans because of him.
I believe that in the case of the sixth grader wearing the anti-abortion shirt, the school was right. Under the first amendment the girl was allowed to wear that shirt, but at school her rights are limited. If the school believed it was a disruption, then the student had no right to wear it. Also, i agree with the school that the shirt was inappropriate. Although it wouldn't have offended some people, it could have an offensive effect on others. School is a place to learn about math and science, not a place to be worrying about political points of view. Therefore, the shirt could definitely be seen as a disruption.
ReplyDeleteIn terms of the burning of the Quaran, I believe that the pastor had every right to say what he did, according to the first amendment that is. I also think he was right not to, because even though we are given rights to free speech does not mean we should use them in offensive or disruptive ways.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteAbout the anti-abortion t-shirt, I think the sixth-grader should have been able to wear the shirt, but I understand where the school was coming from. When you agree to go to a school, you agree to follow all policies and respect administrative decisions. Though the shirt policy at the school was unclear, he was asked to not wear the shirt and disobeyed. Freedom of expression has limits, like everything else in the world.
ReplyDeleteAbout the Quran burning, I think the pastor violated his rights. Openly saying you are about to burn a holy book of someone is out of place and, I think, can be ruled under incitement. Two people were killed in Afghanistan because a protest was held. If that does not fall under the category of incitement, what does?
I believe that in the T-shirt case the 6th grader should be allowed to wear the shirt as long as it wasn't obscene or explicit. When you break down the story it's the same as a child wearing a shirt saying Jesus saves on it. Religion although controversial is a right, and therefor something you can share with others in a peaceful way. The middle schooler is just expressing her point of view and shouldn't be forced to blend with others angle of thinking.
ReplyDeleteHowever the preacher is not only misinterpreting the Bible, by taking it to literally and he is going against his own religion as well. The Bible speaks of respecting others, which is also one of the morals our country was built on. Burning the Koran would not only solve nothing, but it would be disrespecting Muslims. The preacher needs to learn you win more bees with honey instead of vinegar.
I agree with the school's decision to make the 6th Grader change shirts. Although I do not think that there should be an issue with merely an anti-abortion shirt, I so think that the shirt might seem a little graphic, especially with such a young group. However, as far as the Pastor talking about burning the Quran, I am shocked that he has a right to say things like that. I agree with many previous comments saying that a comment threatening to burn something that is very holy to large amounts of people is without a doubt something that could incite violence. Aside from that, it is an abuse of Freedom of Speech to say something so derogatory and insensitive.
ReplyDeleteI believe that Jones' intentions with burning the Quran is worng. When you completely disrespect a sacred book, even if you do not belive in it's teachings it is more than crossing the line. Yes, we have freedom of speech but that does not give us the right to be tolerant and compassionate. There are plenty of just Muslims out there and we should not make them pay for the radicals action. If Jones were to go through with it he would be making it a war over religion not a war over ethics. He is not thinking of the consequences that might occur; such as, making the jobs of our troops overseas even harder. If we drop this low then we will be no better than those third world countries that have been fighting over religion for hundreds of years.
ReplyDeleteOn the subject of the 6th grader and the pro-life t-shirt,I side with the school. I believe when a child is in 6th grade he does not have the copasity to make this type of ethical desicon that even adults have making. An it might cause a disruption in the classroom and cause questions to arise. It seemed to be more of the mother's opinion.I may have sided with the student if he was in high school but in this case i cannot see how it would be appropriate.
Regarding the case T.A. v. McSwain Union Elementary School, I believe that the school had every right to ask the student to put on a new shirt. Some sixth graders are still quite immature and naive at that age, and I think it would be inappropriate and disruptive for 11 and 12 year olds to be subjected to such a topic in such a graphic way. But on the other hand, I still believe that T.A. should exercise her 1st amendment rights and be allowed to wear any other pro-life t-shirt as long as it contains no inappropriate/graphic pictures or vulgar language.
ReplyDeleteIn regards to the pastors threat on the Quran-burning, he did have the right to burn it. I definitely support his decision not too though, because it would just cause severe problems for his congregation and make things worse between cultures on an already devastating day when everyone should be remembering and honoring those dead.
Regarding the article about the 6th grader, First Amendment rights are important and to be protected. However, I believe schools do have the right to prohibit the display of images that would or could be disruptive to the environment in the school. Students must be allowed to have their own viewpoints without interference from school officials. However, the school should have the discretion to restrict images or behaviors that could be disruptive to the educational environment of the school.
ReplyDeleteRegarding the 2nd article, yes, the Pastor does have the right to burn the Quran, but I do not think he should. I would think that a Pastor, of all people, would show respect for another religion,s sacred texts. He should communicate his viewpoints in a more tolerant manner. He could, for example, discuss it with the administrators or Imam of this particular community center or promote dialogue generally rather than disrespecting the tenets of an entire faith system over the location of this community center.
I believe that the sixth grader of the first story should absolutely have the right to wear an anti-abortion shirt. The T-shirt as described did not sound very graphic at all, so I believe that she was correct in stating that the people at the school simply did not agree with her point of view. I agree that the school needs control over the messages that students put out, but I believe that is only true in scenarios where the student poses a threat to other students in an obvious manner, such as curse words or inappropriate images.
ReplyDeleteWhen I first heard the story of the Florida man, my first thought was that he needed to be in jail! After reading that article, though, I do better understand why that would not be a good decision. We want the First Amendment to protect our freedom of speech in every day life, and in order for it to do that, it must protect everyone under all circumstances, even the if that person is abusing it.