YOU Are an Important Part of OUR Country!

The 1st Amendment to the Constitution of the United States of America is worded as follows: "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." Since this is the very first amendment that the Founding Fathers wrote into the Constitution, it speaks volumes to the fact that 'Freedom' was uppermost in their minds.

In the very first sentence, these men wrote, "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof…". That is one loaded sentence and it is the first thing citizens read after the Preamble. "…no law respecting an establishment of religion…" For years and years we have been bombarded with all differing statements regarding the United States of America is a 'Christian' country, there have been arguments for the necessity of bringing 'God', the Christian God, into the classroom of our Public Schools. As they stand cloaked in the Flag, the majority members of the Republican Party decry all other religions but 'Christianity'. It has been spoken by many candidates of the Tea Party, "We are a Christian country!" They say to the cheering crowds, "We must amend our Constitution to reflect the 'fact' that the United States of America was founded on Christian principals". Quite amazingly, those 'Christian" principles they speak of are far older than the Christian religion, itself. Volumes of both the Jewish Torah and the Muslim Koran are almost exact replicas of the Christian's Old Testament. It really matters not if you worship God, Yahweh or Allah, the principals are all the same. Moses brought the Ten Commandments to the Jews and Muslims before he brought them to the Christians. So, if our Representatives and Senators amended the Constitution to reflect the 'fact' that we are living in a 'Christian' country, our Congress would be in clear violation of the very 1st thing our Founding Fathers chose to protect. Either they have never read the Constitution OR, they are lying to you to get your vote!

Conversely, it is against the 1st and most basic law of our land that there will be NO law 'prohibiting the free exercise thereof'. i find is extremely sad that so many innocent peoples are railed against because they are born of, or choose to follow, another credo. Every single citizen of these United States of American has the right to practice any and all, or no religion. The Founding Fathers clearly have said that there should be NO LAW regarding anything religious.

Additionally, the 1st Amendment also guarantees us a VOICE! I may not agree with you and you may not agree with me but, we both have the good fortune to be able to stand up and yell at the top of our lungs, need be, what we think, how we feel, wherever we want to as long as we do not stand on the voice of another or disrespect their right to free speech, as well. We have the right to stand together, shoulder to shoulder with like minded citizens and not face persecution, as long as we do so without violence and with respect to those who may dissent.

Finally, the Founding Fathers gave us ALL the right to 'petition the government for a redress of grievances'. This gives us the Freedom to make a complaint or to ask for help from OUR government. This Freedom dates all the way back to the Magna Carta (1215) and so few of us take advantage of it. People! YOU have the right to tell your Senators and Representatives exactly what you think of them without fear of reprisal. You can call, email or snail mail (handwritten letters are a primary focus) the President of the United States if you do not like the job he is doing or, if you think he could do something in a better way. That is your right, spelled out in black & white in the 1st Amendment of our Bill of Rights. The easiest way of sending a message to the people who represent you in any governing body is, of course, in the voting booth. I cannot say it to many times, "VOTE, VOTE, VOTE!" That message rings true and clear every time you step into a voting booth or send in your ballot via USPS. There is really NO EXCUSE for not voting. if you call the precinct, they will send you a ride. Most States now have the 'Early Voting' system in place so you do not have to stand in line for an inordinate length of time and you need not worry if you will be out of town. Voting couldn't be easier! NO EXCUSES!!

The 1st Amendment is there to protect you. It is your 'friend'. It is your 'soapbox'. Make sure that you allow no other human being take this Freedom away from you and please, consider using the gift the Founding Fathers gave you. For well over 2,000 years blood has been shed so that you may have this right. Don't let men to have died in vein because you have a feeling of hopelessness. This is OUR country, it is not only the country of the top 5% but, the United States of America belongs to the 95% as well. it is time to recognize and use it. YOU are an important part of our Country!!

#vote #religion #constitution #speech #1stamendment