Today's Constitutional Amendment of the Day is Amendment I: "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."

The basic rights confirmed (not granted) by Amendment I are, by far, the most important foundations of a free society. Totalitarian governments usually have strict control over people's right of worship, expression, as well as their right to criticize the government. Controlling the press, and preventing criticism is especially important in maintaining any good dictatorship.

Today, people often confuse the freedom of expression with a right to be heard, or a right not to face the consequences of what is said. While you may have a right to express yourself, you don't have the right to force others to listen, nor do you have the right to force others to provide you with a medium. You must also be prepared for backlash from people if what you express is offensive. Just because you have the right to speak, doesn't mean that you should. Some people need to learn to shut up for their own good.

Freedom of religion is often confused with freedom FROM religion. So called, 'civil libertarians' see a religious display in a public place, and they wish to abolish it. They wish to expunge even generic references to 'God' and 'Creator', under the semblance that it is the state establishment of religion.

Regardless of these attacks, Amendment I is still at the core of our free society. Our founding fathers realized that certain rights were 'unalienable', and could not be taken away. Amendment I doesn't grant your freedom of speech, it protects it. It restricts the government from trying to take it away. Without it, we would never have gotten this far.