wolfstrike
05-08-2017, 08:57 PM
<<<<<<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.>>>>>
What was freedom of speech in the old days?
It's inevitable the government will have their news writers enforcing their opinions.
At the time, the patriots were circulating their own pamphlets.
If the public really got pissed off , they started to assemble to demand action.
All of this is protected under the First Amendment.
The American government has really never needed to infringe on free speech because the major issues have always been dominated by organization, and a lone person has little chance of causing big changes.
As far as "redress of grievances" goes, in most large cities a person will go into the office of their local politician and request changes in government. The politician will say "yeah , whatever" and throw the citizen off property.
The public should be educated in the ways of the Constitution, be united, and remove any politicians who act contrary.
The sad fact is, most changes we have in government start at the top, and people are found to work the process at the bottom.
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These are the problems the founders had with government "established" religion.
In England the king was also named the head of the church, so basically, what ever the king said was considered God's will. The founders knew there was a big flaw with that way of thinking.
Every state had a dominant sect of Christianity. The founders didn't like the idea that a person would be required to hold a position in a church to run for government.
I think that the states willing to comply with the Constitution was a great example of religious sects walking away from power.
Nothing in the U.S. Constitution said church and state shall remain separate. That was taken from writings of Thomas Jefferson using his description. Unfortunately , modern law makers hold the opinion that religion should not be seen or heard, which is not what the First amendment says. Reportedly , one of the first acts of Congress was to print Bibles.
"or prohibiting the free exercise thereof" means the government can not uphold laws against religion.
A person can not go around and murder people and claim it's part of their "religion" , because that act violates other constitutional rights.
Examples of an unconstitutional "establishment" of religion are, 1) A state naming a sect of religion as official and forcing people to comply. 2) The federal government naming a sect of religion as official and forcing the public to comply to the religious rules.
IMPORTANT NOTE:
After the Constitution was ratified , at least 2 states had laws requiring their populations to contribute money to a church.
Modern historians deliberately misinterpret this , saying this is "proof" the states were not forced to abide by the Constitution.
The fact is, these states felt they were in compliance with the Constitution because they did not specify which church you were required to donate to.
What was freedom of speech in the old days?
It's inevitable the government will have their news writers enforcing their opinions.
At the time, the patriots were circulating their own pamphlets.
If the public really got pissed off , they started to assemble to demand action.
All of this is protected under the First Amendment.
The American government has really never needed to infringe on free speech because the major issues have always been dominated by organization, and a lone person has little chance of causing big changes.
As far as "redress of grievances" goes, in most large cities a person will go into the office of their local politician and request changes in government. The politician will say "yeah , whatever" and throw the citizen off property.
The public should be educated in the ways of the Constitution, be united, and remove any politicians who act contrary.
The sad fact is, most changes we have in government start at the top, and people are found to work the process at the bottom.
----------------------------
These are the problems the founders had with government "established" religion.
In England the king was also named the head of the church, so basically, what ever the king said was considered God's will. The founders knew there was a big flaw with that way of thinking.
Every state had a dominant sect of Christianity. The founders didn't like the idea that a person would be required to hold a position in a church to run for government.
I think that the states willing to comply with the Constitution was a great example of religious sects walking away from power.
Nothing in the U.S. Constitution said church and state shall remain separate. That was taken from writings of Thomas Jefferson using his description. Unfortunately , modern law makers hold the opinion that religion should not be seen or heard, which is not what the First amendment says. Reportedly , one of the first acts of Congress was to print Bibles.
"or prohibiting the free exercise thereof" means the government can not uphold laws against religion.
A person can not go around and murder people and claim it's part of their "religion" , because that act violates other constitutional rights.
Examples of an unconstitutional "establishment" of religion are, 1) A state naming a sect of religion as official and forcing people to comply. 2) The federal government naming a sect of religion as official and forcing the public to comply to the religious rules.
IMPORTANT NOTE:
After the Constitution was ratified , at least 2 states had laws requiring their populations to contribute money to a church.
Modern historians deliberately misinterpret this , saying this is "proof" the states were not forced to abide by the Constitution.
The fact is, these states felt they were in compliance with the Constitution because they did not specify which church you were required to donate to.