Op/ed about the importance of the First Amendment

By Lavi Ben-Dor

You’ve got rights, too!

As Scholastic Journalism Week approached, I found myself thinking more and more about that law that we hold so dearly—the First Amendment. Although the language is tedious, it states, among other things, that all of us have the right to say what we want to say…and write what we want to write. That includes you, me, and every other student (as well as adults) in the nation.

Although these two laws have been challenged often, as courts are forced to further define them, all of us should appreciate the freedom they give us.

I recently heard about the book “Hero Type” by Barry Lyga. The book’s central character, Kevin Ross, becomes a hero overnight when he saves one of his peers from a serial killer. However, his popularity plummets—when he is caught taking “Support Our Troops” magnets off his car. He then launches a campaign to argue in defense of the freedom of speech, challenging others and the reader to consider why we say the Pledge of Allegiance or pin “Support the Troops” stickers to our lockers, backpacks, or cars.

Although many of us have been fortunate to avoid such an uproar, the book teaches us an important lesson—we have the right to express our beliefs as we wish, even if it means not wearing a pro-army pin even though we are patriots. And it made us think and realize that free speech is not something we can dismiss lightly.

The current protests in Egypt remind us how lucky we are to have the First Amendment. The current regime has often cracked down on and imprisoned reporters during election season to avoid the exposure of its corruption. And even now, with access to sites such as Twitter and Facebook limited and journalists attacked by the government, the government is attempting to pull a veil over the nation and limit the amount of information the rest of the world can see.

Another prominent issue on the table is the extremely controversial WikiLeaks, bringing up a bucket load of moral, ethical, and journalistic dilemmas: Should the group continue releasing information? Should we have the right to see government cables? And what does this reveal about the American government? This shows us that the U.S. must work further to uphold the First Amendment and all that it promises us. Julian Assange and his assistants teach us to value the freedom of speech and fight for it.

Students can also learn much from the Tinker v. Des Moines School District case. In 1969, the parents of two students, who wore black armbands in support of ending the Vietnam War but were suspended after refusing to take them off, sued the district and won. This monumental case established the fact that students still have their constitutional rights, even the freedom of expression, at school, and do not “leave their rights at the schoolhouse door.”

All of us can celebrate the First Amendment and all it gives us, even if we’re not student journalists or even slightly interested in newspapers. Because after all, all students the right to speak and write down their thoughts, opinions, and beliefs. Even you.