Would you like to see my First Amendment pass?

Taken from archives.gov,

“Amendment I

     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.”

     As a budding journalist in the spring of media transitions, it’s important to think about what rights I have. I have taken the dreaded History and Law of Journalism course at Wayne State, read and re-read the Michigan Media Law, been quizzed on and tested on current law and important trials, but that doesn’t mean it has fully sunk in.

     From a young age, you learn what your basic rights are as a United States citizen. Freedom of religion, press, speech, etc. are pounded into your head in elementary school. A seven-year-old doesn’t comprehend what those things mean; she regurgitates it in hopes she wins the prized Hersey Kiss given to the students who can recite them all. This is what it boils down to: We all are allowed the freedom to pray to whomever, ask questions to whomever, and project our opinions to whomever.

     What does this mean for me? Am I chopped liver because I want to make a career out of what everyone is allowed to do, as written in our Bill of Rights?

     I think the main difference is in our code of ethics and need for truth. Any person can ask a mayor if they are having an affair with the treasurer and will most likely be served denial, but it's a different story when a journalist asks the right people the right questions to find the right evidence before publicizing the truth. We’re not out to libel the mayor, but rather to make it known he’s having an affair with a staff member during working hours. We seek the truth rather than the juicy gossip because knowledge is power and the more we can inform the audience, the more the audience will look to us when things begin to go south.

     For me, the First Amendment has come to be more of a spiritual press pass. We all have it, we don’t carry it on a lanyard around our necks and we all know it's there.