Freedom Vs. Fear

"The First Amendment takes a beating during times of fear." This was one of Ken Paulson's key points during his talk at the Reynolds Institute today.  Paulson is the President and CEO of the First Amendment Center, and one of the most dynamic speakers I've ever heard.  If only every high school history teacher I'd ever had was so engaging, I surely would have done better on Paulson's history quiz.

Paulson's talk was peppered with history trivia, but his main message was that whenever we get scared as a nation, we allow our First Amendment rights to be taken away.  Even history textbooks and U.S. government citizenship quizzes have botched up their description of the First Amendment.  We may all know some basic facts about history (or think we do, as in the erroneous attribution of the American flag's design to Betsy Ross), but how many Americans can name the five freedoms in the First Amendment?  Paulson made it clear that journalism teachers help "grow citizens," that we are the ones who need to pass on not only the responsibilities of Americans, but also our rights.  The next time I teacher the First Amendment, I'll definitely be drawing on the resources Paulson introduced us to.

Jessica Nassau
Rockville High School
Rockville, Md.