Campaign launches to educate youths about First Amendment

[UrbScotty]

Source: Yahoo! News

A nationwide campaign is launching Thursday to promote the First Amendment to young Americans through education and advertising.

1 for All, a nonpartisan effort, has the support of celebrities like Ellen DeGeneres, John Mellencamp and NBC “Meet the Press” host David Gregory — as well as Yahoo! News and more than 1,000 other organizations committed to helping publicize the campaign.

1 for All founder Ken Paulson, president of the Newseum and the First Amendment Center and former editor of USA Today, said the initiative is aimed at people ages 8 to 22 as well as those who teach them. It is designed to apply First Amendment freedoms to modern technologies and concepts.

The First Amendment "protects all those things that give life flavor," he said. "You are free to tweet, you are free to sing, you are free to dance. It protects all those things that make life special."

Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ynews/20100701/ts_ynews/ynews_ts2995

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I was kind of suspicious at first, but having Ellen on board sure helps.

[keepCAblue]

1. This country could use a lesson or two wrt the 1st Amendment

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.

I sure hope the "1 for All" educational campaign stresses the first line of the 1st Amendment:

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion...

It is the constant, daily, unapologetic violation of this amendment which denies me full citizenship and social equality. So, yes, of course Ellen would be on board with this. Hopefully education of Americans from an early age will help turn the rising tide of religious fascism which has so despoiled this nation of all that it once stood for.

[FBI_Un_Sub]

2. Forrest Church's Books on the First Amendment

Rev Forrest Church, a Unitarian theologian and historian, has written two very good books on the First Amendment,

1. The Separation of Church and State: Writings on a Fundamental Freedom by America's Founders by F. Forrest Church, and
   
2. So Help Me God: The Founding Fathers and the First Great Battle Over Church and State by F. Forrest Church

Highly recommended. (I am not a Unitarian, but I do attend their services and adult ed).

[sulphurdunn]

3. It's not called the First Amendment for nothing.

Actually, what we need is a semester curriculum on the Constitution in every year long high school U.S History course with three-quarters of it dedicated to the Bill of Rights and how it stacks up to Supreme Court decisions. :smoke:

[toopers]

4. Why stop with the 1st . . .

We could all use a little bit of a refresher.

[melm00se]

5. then move on to the 2nd amendment