First Amendment is for everyone

We fill libraries with interpretations of who we are as a nation. But when you boil all of that down to its essence, there is a 45-word description that wraps it up most succinctly and eloquently. It's been our guiding force for 219 years.

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.

James Madison wrote the First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States as well as the other nine that make up the Bill of Rights.

Were it not for Madison's direct and uncompromising words, the world would be a very different place today.

"1 for All" is a national nonpartisan program designed to build understanding and support for First Amendment freedoms. It seeks to remind Americans with a blitz leading up to Independence Day that those 45 words serve all people, regardless of their differences.

The First Amendment in the Bill of Rights, more than any others, conveys clearly our central purpose as a nation - that personal freedoms are paramount - freedom of religion, speech and the press and the right to assemble and petition the government. Insurance that a new federal government would not - could not - be oppressive like the monarchy that preceded it.

It's the reason you can participate in this editorial page, the reason a newspaper like this can exist at all. It allows you to go to the church of your choosing. And for the good it did in providing consensus for adoption of our Constitution, perhaps it's the reason we still celebrate the Fourth of July.

While it's the sentence that defines us, its application has been interpreted in different ways as time has worn on.

We talk about the appropriateness of advertising, song lyrics, pornography; whether hateful speech has a place in our society. The list goes on.

Madison had to know that these basic principles would come under attack, and that without a firm resolve, the foundation of this nation could crumble.

According to the First Amendment Center's 2009 annual report, 39 percent of American's surveyed couldn't name a single freedom it lays out; 55 percent could name free speech. Only 18 percent knew about freedom of religion and 16 percent knew freedom of the press.

The "1 for All" initiative is something we certainly can get behind. As troublesome as the First Amendment can seem to be at times, it's the best thing we have going. It's worth protecting.

And for you 39 percent who don't know the first thing about the First Amendment, now is as good a time as any to get to know it.