Cyber Beat

Free Speech, The First Amendment and You

I suspect that the majority of Americans are aware of, or have read, the First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States. Yet, most of us probably have not read the First Amendment, let alone the Constitution, in many years. I must admit that I am guilty of this. I would venture to say that the last time I read the Constitution was at least ten years ago while working on my Master's degree. However, it is my perception that we often take for granted that we have a Constitution and the amendments to the Constitution that afford us many more rights than citizens of other countries. How it has shaped the way we live, breath, speak, write, and, in some respects, die, often is forgotten.

With the exception of the few Americans who have been elected into public office to represent the rest of us, or the attorneys who prosecute or defend us, the majority of us probably don't spend much time reflecting on the meaning of the Constitution, or the First Amendment. Most of us lead extremely busy lives. We rise at 6:00 in the morning to prepare the kids for school. We prepare ourselves for the day at work. Many of us even drive thirty minutes or more to work. By the time we complete an eight hour day at work, make the commute home, fix dinner and put the kids to bed, it's 9:00 in the evening. How many of us then want to spend time reflecting on the Constitution? We barely have enough time to watch the evening news or read the paper.

Even so, there are few occasions when decisions made by our elected officials, or decisions finally determined by the courts, either affect us directly, or immediately. Unless we break the law, or have the courage or gumption to speak publicly about public issues, our individual actions and decisions aren't noticed by anyone but our closest friends or business acquaintances. In reality, most of the time we go on with our day to day activities without giving any thought to what's happening around us until we do hear the evening news, or read the morning paper. Even then, because either we aren't directly affected, or we feel our elected officials can deal with the issue, or feel that our involvement won't have any impact, very few of us take an active role in the development of public policy. Finally, how often is there an opportunity to become involved in an issue that hasn't already been decided before we have a chance to participate? Often times an issue may be at the final stages of development before we are aware that it was at the table. Even if we are fortunate enough to have an issue placed on a ballot at an election, we are often not familiar with the impact it will have whether it is passed or not.

I am certainly not accusing us, the general public, of having our heads in the sand. Quite the opposite. If information is not being provided to us while we carry on our lives, then we certainly aren't going to know that it exists, let alone how it will affect us.

The commercialization of the Internet , similar to the introduction of CNN, has given us a forum to gain information 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Assuming that we take the time to access the information available on the Internet, and that we know how to find the information we need or want, it's there when we want to find it.

The vast changes that are taking place in society now, with the commercialization of the Internet, haven't been seen in this country, or the world, since the industrial revolution. With these changes, constitutional questions are again surfacing. Specifically, the issues concerning the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution and your right to free speech are being reviewed by Congress and the courts for application to information provided on the Internet. Therefore, now is the time for each of us to become involved in policy making, especially if we haven't been involved before. There is a new world out there in Cyberspace. It is developing day by day. Each and every one of us should be involved in the development of the future of the Cybernation, the Cyberworld. All of our opinions count. All of our opinions should be heard. But they won't be heard or counted if we don't take the time to express them.

Therefore, I encourage everyone to visit several sites on the Internet that are available for each of us to brush up on our knowledge of the Constitution, the First Amendment, and the bills that are being considered by Congress. The Constitution and all amendments are provided at http://www.house.gov/constitution/constitution.html/ and http://www.house.gov/constitution/amend.html There are several sites to review the bills being considered by Congress and to review what is being done by others to support or oppose the bills. The EPIC organization has a site at http://epic.org. The VTW Billwatch Newsletter is available at http://www.vtw.org/billwatch. Lastly, the EFF Action Alert newsletter is available at http://www.eff.org/pub/alerts. You can also email the President directly from this last site. Give your opinion about the bills affecting free speech that are being considered by Congress after you have read up on the issues! Be a part of the creation of the new millennium! Then enjoy a football game!

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