Massachusetts Institute of Technology Selma Movie Discussion

Watch the movie “Selma” after you have read chapter 2 and reviewed the powerpoint presentation for

Chapter 2.

1) While watching the movie pick a scene that represents each of the five rights provided in the First Amendment.

These 5 rights are as follows:

??Freedom of religion;

??Freedom of speech;

??Freedom of the press;

??The right of the people to peaceably assemble; and

??The right to petition the government for a redress of grievances (i.e. ability to sue the government).You will provide this typed and uploaded. You should provide a description of what is happening in the scene of the movie and what right is being exercised in the scene. I want the time that the scene occurs also. For example, if the scene occurs at 5 min and 35 seconds into the move. I want that time frame.

Lastly, I want you to pick a current event that has happened recently were one of the 5 rights in the First Amendment is being exercised. Explain why you believe this is an exercise of one of the First Amendment rights.

FIRST AMENDMENT IN
PRINCIPLE AND PRACTICE
WHAT DOES THE FIRST AMENDMENT PROTECT?
•
Freedom of Religion;
•
Freedom of Speech;
•
Freedom of Press;
•
Right to assembly; and
•
Right to petition the government for redress of grievances.
•
All five of those individual rights are different, and yet broadly reflect our
freedom of expression.
•
The right of free expression is not an absolute. There are limits to what
the law will allow.
•
Most Americans support limiting free expression in areas where it would
endanger national security, unfairly damage the reputation of individuals,
or corrupt children.
Four Values Inherent in the American Desire to Protect Freedom of Expression
•
Free expression aids in the discovery of truth.
•
Free expression is necessary for democratic governance.
•
Free expression helps promote a stable society.
•
Free expression assures individual self-fulfillment.
MARKETPLACE OF IDEAS
•
The justification for freedom of expression that holds that the best way
to find truth is to allow conflicting ideas to compete.
•
The marketplace of ideas rationale for free expression argues in favor of
the public’s ability to choose good and truthful ideas over bad and false
ones.
•
Political speech – is the most protected form of speech due to its key role
in support of representative government.
•
Commercial speech – Speech with a profit motive. The classic example of
commercial speech is advertising. This type of speech is much more
subject to regulation and restriction than other forms.
CLEAR AND PRESENT DANGER
TEST
.
•
Speech that presents a clear and present danger is outside the protection
of the First Amendment.
•
The US Supreme Court is unwilling to protect expression that constitutes
a clear and present danger to society.
•
If free speech is destabilizing to the point of public disruption then it is
not deserving of protection.
FIRST AMENDMENT LANGUAGE
“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.”
•
The First Amendment is intended to protect expression, not action.
•
Actions might actually be protected expression.
Ex. Protesters wearing armbands, badges, or holding signs may be uttering
no words, but their “actions” have meaning, and this symbolic form of
speech is protected.
SPEAKER RIGHTS VS LISTENER RIGHTS
LISTENER RIGHTS
•
When we protect the rights of speakers, listeners benefit from the
opportunity to hear a multiplicity of views.
•
What happens when listeners would prefer to be shielded from certain
communications?
•
“The First Amendment permits the government to prohibit offensive speech
as intrusive when the ‘captive’ audience cannot avoid the objectionable
speech.”
•
In some instances where audiences are unable to avoid communication, their
right not to be subjected to offensive messages may outweigh the rights of
those wanting to disseminate them.
COMPELLING SPEECH
•
Being made to speak if one would prefer to remain silent is also a form of
abridging free expression.
SPEECH & PRESS
•
Inclusion of speech and press rights in the First Amendment is general
language freeing all forms of expression, and that the First Amendment,
with its protections for speech and press along with religion, assembly,
and petition, should be read as a general protection of expression.
•
Expressions may manifests itself in many different ways including
speaking and publishing, but also wearing armbands or offensive
clothing, marching, and protesting.
RIGHT OF ASSEMBLY
•
Right of the people peaceably to assemble has been interpreted to
incorporate other rights in addition to just assembling in public places,
most notably the right of association.
PETITION FOR REDRESS
•
The right to petition gives the rest of the First Amendment its teeth,
because it guarantees the people can sue the government in order to
recover from the loss of civil liberties.
•
This redress promised in the First Amendment’s petition clause does not
guarantee satisfaction with the result. It only promises public officials
shall grant some access to the people they govern who have an issue.