First Amendment in Jeopardy?

One of the most precious rights Americans have is the First Amendment, otherwise known as the right to free speech. This Amendment is the reason why we have the freedom to say virtually anything we want to and not wind up in jail for it. Oh, sure, you can't yell 'Fire!' in a crowded building or make threats against individuals, buildings or this country. Try that and you'll be trying to convince the authorities that you really didn't mean anything by what you said. Otherwise, we can all say pretty much whatever we darn well please. Or at least it used to be that way.

Consider that the First Amendment covers not only vebal speech but the printed word as well...and by extension, photographs. So, not only can we say whatever we please but we can write what we please and take photos of whatever we can point a camera at. Again, it used to be that way. Thanks to September 11, identity theft and rapidly multiplying layers of privacy laws, the First Amendment has found itself in serious jeopardy. Doubt me? Let's take a look at some of the recent developments.

First, September 11. Not surprisingly, that attack changed things forever. Besides spawning the cabinet-level Department of Homeland Security, metal detectors and various other forms of security popped up like mushrooms after a rain, most notably in airports. Was some of this desirable? Absolutely...and even necessary. But in typical American fashion, some of it has been taken to the ultimate extreme. Such as a boy having his G.I. Joe doll confiscated at the airport security checkpoint because the doll possessed a prohibited 'weapon'…a three-inch long plastic replica of an M-16 rifle. Or a pre-teen girl being arrested for bringing a 'weapon' to her school. What was her 'weapon'? A paring knife that she was using in the cafeteria to cut chicken off the bone. This, of course, was the result of various 'zero tolerence' laws that are intended to keep weapons (notably guns) and drugs out of schools. Again, an admiral goal, but when common sense goes out the window, a reasonable goal becomes unreasonable.