n American courts of law and elsewhere. These incidents and challenges of authority reflect the defensive American attitude toward the ever-important freedom of expression and the growing significance of personal rights throughout American history.Without this amendment, women would have never had a voice in political issues. Dr. Martin Luther King would have never made his famous “I Have a Dream” speech that influenced millions. The press would have never been allowed to cover the “private affairs” of president Bill Clinton. The American citizens would never be allowed to protest, picket, rally, or make any attempt to influence the government. The framers of the Constitution were aware of consequences like these, and, in making an effort to preserve the freedom that America had fought so hard to obtain, added this and many other amendments to the Constitution.In American tradition, the value of the individual, and individual opinion, is held in high esteem. Free expression is the means by which consensus is reached and central authority is balanced. In this democracy, expression of opinion and debate is a part of the political process. In a sense, expression is not just a right, but a duty. It is the means by which public opinion is reached, and public policy made. The exceptional opinion, no matter how distasteful or controversial to the majority, must be protected....
