Subject: First Amendment

     It is indeed interesting to see how far the First Amendment has
been stretched lately.  The framers of our Constitution put the First
Amendment in the Bill of Rights because they remembered the
restrictions on political speech instituted by British overseers in
the days before the revolution.

     When one conducts a study of the historical context of laws in force 
at the time the Constitution was written, it is readily apparent that 
the authors had no compunctions against limiting vulgar, lewd and 
immoral language.  Most states and communities had laws on the books 
concerning cursing in public by individuals and if someone was so stupid 
as to attempt to publish pornography, he was dealt with harshly under a 
wide number of statutes.

     Again, clearly, by the historical context, freedom of speech was
meant to protect POLITICAL speech. The present definition of freedom
of speech is a product of a virtual re-writing of the Constitution
which has taken place since the mid-fifties.  It is a product of the
liberalization of the Supreme Court with its backing of a liberal
Congress, and if it continues, it will result in the majority of
Americans becoming totally amoral.  As it is, school students are not
taught of the moral foundations on which this country is founded,
because to do so would show how far we have departed from our roots.

     Of course, this whole conversation is of no concern to the
average American, because he is being fed the same diet that brought
about the fall of Rome.  It was said of the Roman Empire at its peak
that they were a moral people, but during the decline, the citizens
became increasingly dependent on the state for every need, and in
return, they were supplied with entertainments of increasing
depravity, culminating with the abuses of the arenas in which humans
were literally killed for entertainment.

     Today, the American majority is placated by the same 'bread and
circuses' approach.  Give good ol' Billy-Bob Taxpayer his welfare
check, cheap beer and drugs, and cheap entertainment via television,
and the ruling elite is free to do as they please. The only thing, of
course, is that the entertainment has to get 'better' and better.
Thus, tv went from 'Father Knows Best' and 'Leave It to Beaver' to
'Roseanne' and 'Married With Children', and music went from  Buddy
Holly to 2 Live Crew. And, let's not forget Bart!

     The mind has to be titillated to be entertained, and is soon
jaded, requiring even more outrage to titillate.

Back during the early 19th century, Alexis de Toqueville, a
French author, came to America to search out the reason for
the vibrant growth of this new nation. On his return to
France, he wrote, after seeing the churches and the moral
foundation of the country, "America is great because America is
good."  When America stops being good, it will stop being great.

This is already evident as we lose the world marketplace because each
successive generation has less desire to strive for excellence in
education and in values, electing instead to retire to the couch and
the playground, being entertained and at ease, minds satiated by
garbage... 

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