Blog 4

Our freedom of speech is protected by the first amendment. This means we have the liberty to speak openly without fear of government restraint. It protects everyone to think and express themselves freely. This is important because it enables the truth to emerge from diverse opinions, rather than having the government dictate the truth. There are several types of speech that should not be protected such as: perjury, true threats, child pornography, obscenity, fighting words, blackmail, and solicitation to commit crimes.

Separation of church and state government is necessary because mixing religion and government would only lead to civil strife, inequality, and violence in cross-cultural societies. Thomas Jefferson and James Madison opposed government issued religious proclamations. Both men believed strongly that government should not interfere in religious matters.

Defendant’s rights are important to the government because those rights are protected by the fourth, fifth, sixth, and eighth amendment. They protect the manner in which the police conduct investigations, the procedures used at trial, and the punishments that may be given following convictions. Defendants have these rights for a reason. Law enforcement of all stages appears to abuse their power in certain situations. Therefore the defendants need protection from arbitrary police until proven guilty with liable evidence.

I commented on Adrian Arthur's, Kasandra Morgan's, and Ronald Payne's blog.