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Ikari · #9 (**permalink**) 02-13-2007, 01:34 PM

It says that speech and press may not be abridged. Rights are rights, and rights do not require a government permit. People need to be free to do as they wish so long as they do not infringe upon the rights of others in the process. And as freemen we need to recognize exactly what freedom and liberty means. You have no right against being offended, you have no right to not hear things while outside. You have rights to life, liberty, and property (a few of the most important rights are listed in the Bill of Rights, though it is far from a complete list of our innate and inalienable rights).

The limitations set up by We the People when we created this government were not limitations against our rights, it was limitations upon the power and scope of the government. The first amendment did not establish freedom of speech, it did not grant to us that right. That right is innate and inalienable, it was a clarification for government to know that it's hands off. There were not granted the power to abridge speech and press, and there are not conditions placed on that. It's not, Congress can not abridge speech and press...unless it's annoying to someone. It's black and white, government may not abridge speech and press; there are no loopholes there. While the Constitution did not grant any rights to We the People at all, it did grant privileges and duties to the government. It is these which the Constitution restricts, not our innate rights. The power of the government is limited, it's scope is limited; the Constitution grants on behalf of the people certain, limited powers to the government. It's not "Where does it say you can say as you like anywhere", that is a horrible horrible train of thought that will lead to nothing short of tyranny. In line with the founders would be "I have the right to free speech, and I will say as I want; where is it written that government was allowed to intercede against my rights?". Rights are not granted, and government is not the seat of power. We the People are, we created the government, and we were (*)(*)(*)(*)ed clear in the Constitution what they could and couldn't do. Anything not specifically granted to the government in the Constitution is not possessed by the government. The government may not abridge speech and press; the only time the government is authorized to intercede is if the rights of others are being infringed upon. Secure the blessings of liberty to us and posterity...that is one of the main reasons why government was created in the first place.