Support for First Amendment Down
Support for the First Amendment has eroded significantly since Sept. 11 and nearly half of Americans now think the constitutional amendment on free speech goes too far in the rights it guarantees, says a poll released Thursday. [From Privacy Digest]
This relates well to the piece I cited the other day, from Slate, about the dangers of having the Supreme Court go with the way the winds of popular opinion are blowing. The Constitution is there to help prevent us from damaging what freedoms we do have at times of "crisis."
The poll found that 49 percent think the First Amendment goes too far, a total about 10 points higher than in 2001.
So, if the Constitution weren't difficult to change, we'd in theory be just a few percentage points now from losing what it is that makes the country worth saving.
They found that 48 percent of respondents agreed the government should have the freedom to monitor religious groups in the interest of national security - even if that means infringing upon the religious freedom of the group's members. Forty-two percent said the government should have more authority to monitor Muslims.
To those who might feel this way: remember that today it's someone else's religion. If he wind changes a little bit, tomorrow it could be your religion, or those without religion. If the US government has the right to monitor Muslims, then that implies that Muslim governments have the right to monitor Christians.
Sixty-three percent rated the job the American educational system does in teaching students about First Amendment freedoms as either "fair" or "poor." Five percent rated the educational system's job in this area as excellent.
Well, this poll proves the first sentence there. The people who think the First Amendment goes too far are obviously the result of the poor eductional system.
4:40:46 PM Permalink
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