2011-06-24, 10:39 PM
Fiel Wrote:Another thing - anyone would have a hell of a time changing anything in the constitution for the next few years at minimum. The right wing's current zeitgeist is to treat the constitution and the founding fathers as some sort of legendary heroes and texts which have stood the test of time. It's almighty. You want to change their scripture?
Yeah, the men who were as flawed as anyone else, and were pretty diverse in ideologies. To say "It's what the Founding Fathers wanted" is kinda stupid. Which one? I doubt they would have a unified view, you know, what with some of them hating each other. Jefferson and Hamilton, for example.
Beg Wrote:What happens when said expression is infringing the rights of others?
One of the Federalists papers, I think it's the one dealing with factions, explains that one intent behind the Constitution was to prevent the majority from having the upper hand in government. The rights of the individual are heavily emphasized.
If you infringe upon the rights of others, then it's not protected speech, and you can't express yourself in that way. However, though I do appreciate the memorial and wish that it didn't come under such protest, protesting that is within protected speech, but if you discard it on the basis that it's unpleasant, it's rather hypocritical for you to want your opinions to be heard. The Constitution doesn't say "Religion is evil, and you should protest it", it says you can protest, and that the state won't back a certain religion. It's entirely up to the people what to do that, and they exercise the right because it's constantly been defended in the courts, and while it doesn't seem all that offensive to you, and what they're doing is morally wrong, their opinions have as much right as anyone else to be heard, especially if they feel wronged. It was promised that religion wouldn't have a place in Congress's doings, and thanks the the 14th Amendment, which granted foreign slaves citizenship, and just about everyone else, as well as promising equal protection under the law, this was transfered to the states, so doing something like this probably really offends them, and as stated in the 1st Amendment, they have the right to petition the government with their grievances.

