In “A First Amendment Junkie,” Susan Jacoby argues that the First Amendment cannot be selectively applied. Susan Jacoby is an established columnist from The New York Times, and has experience working for other distinguished publications including The Washington Post. Her primary audience for this piece is New York citizens. “A First Amendment Junkie” was first published in 1978, and argued that the First Amendment is all inclusive. Jacoby’s judgement is sound, and her use of logos, pathos, and ethos further reinforce this point. Jacoby’s uses an example to demonstrate how selectively applying the First Amendment shows has unintentional and unconstitutional consequences. Jacoby reinforces the importance of upholding the First Amendment using …show more content…
The most powerful analogy in the text is the comparison of women and pornography shops to concentration camps and nazis. This analogy demonstrates how some individuals view the severity of the need for First Amendment censorship, but also brings to mind that the Nazi march through concentration camps was not censored, despite its far more violent nature in comparison to the existence pornography (17). This analogy is an effective way to help the reader understand how some individuals feel about pornography, and why they believe it should be censored. That being said, it does not help prove the point of those individuals, but rather is used to help develop Jacoby’s argument that the First Amendment is all inclusive, regardless of personal opinion. Jacoby has two specific uses of statistics within the text. The first, less influential statistic is the price of a magazine on page 18. The second, more notable statistic is when she mentions the age range of children viewing movies containing adult content in theaters (19). The age of the children in box-office lines helps paint a picture for the reader and better establishes a mental visualization of what is happening in the scene. This is an effective use of statistics, and it also ties into imagery. Incorporating two separate rhetorical terms into one coherent …show more content…
Some of the most powerful uses of pathos in “A First Amendment Junky” involve creative imagery; in other words, the author’s attempt to make the reader visualize something. One previously mentioned use of imagery is when Jacoby uses the statistics of how young some members of the box-office line for an adult film are, “I was even more shocked to see parents standing in line with children between the ages of 10 and 14,” and she continues, “I simply don’t know why a parent would take a child to see such a movie” (19). Jacoby seamlessly turns a statistic into a mental scene of what the line looks like. She also effectively uses this as a transition into her next point. Another use of imagery can be found on page 17, where Jacoby references a specific street, 42d street, which would likely trigger an image in the minds of her target New Yorker audience. This use of imagery is not very effective for myself, as I am not familiar with New York; however, I suspect that this imagery would be effective for a reader who understands the New York landscape. These two examples, as well as others within the text, add up to create an unavoidable personal and emotional
Conferring to activist author, Susan Jacoby's essay “A First Amendment Junkie," the First Amendment should be centered on complete construal solely. All through her essay she conveys numerous cases that people have brought up as exemptions to the Amendment, but she states that they are just a ordinary misdirection. Child Porn is a status quo that several discuss should be an exception to the Amendment. However, rendering to Jacoby, Child Porn and the First Amendment are not associated. Child Porn is just an abuse of power that one has bequeathed upon themselves and it should be punished by law, but not as disobeying the First Amendment. Throughout Susan Jacoby's essay, she makes it very
In this adaptation of “How First Amendment Rights Have Evolved”, the author explains specifically what the first amendment protects and gives examples of different times throughout history that it has been challenged, which has led to an evolution of its power and meaning. The author’s use of thorough reasoning, which is then defended by specific evidence, allows for a strong argument regarding the first amendment and how it has evolved. The author begins the passage by quoting part of the first amendment. This quote serves as evidence to help begin the argument and explain the author’s point of view regarding the purpose and evolution of the first amendment.
The first speaker, Dr. Khal Schneider, addresses the words behind the 2nd amendment. He provides us with a historical background around the formation of the amendment and further describes the works that are within this amendment. He highlights words such as “Militia”, “necessary”, “arms”, and “infringed”. He describes how these words can be interpreted differently, thus making it hard to actually interpret the amendment for what it actually means. For instance, he draws attention to the word “arms” and describes the evolution. He illustrates that his amendment must be looked at in respects to the century it was written in. He then describes the difference between “arms’ within both centuries. He draws attention to the increase
The United States of America seems to be protected by a very important historical document called the Constitution. Despite the fact that it was written and signed many years ago, the American people and their leaders still have faith in the Constitution. One of the major statements of the Constitution is the First Amendment, freedom of speech. Although it is difficult to decide what is offensive and what is not, it is clear to see that songs of rape, violence, bigotry, and songs containing four letter words are completely unnecessary for susceptible minds to acknowledge. It is reasonable to say that more people listen to music everyday and for that reason, music tends to be more influential. The American
The first amendment of the constitution is a fundamental building block of our liberty. Without it, tyrannical ideals could encompass America with nothing to stop it. With the application of the first amendment the government is kept in check through itself, regulating its own rights and balancing its power. Though perhaps more importantly, this right gives the people the power to petition and address the government with their own concerns; through these rights, the people have the ability to regulate the government’s regulation of itself, and therein lies the absolute
The First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution is part of our countries Bill of Rights. The first amendment is perhaps the most important part of the U.S. Constitution because the amendment guarantees citizens freedom of religion, speech, writing and publishing, peaceful assembly, and the freedom to raise grievances with the Government. In addition, amendment requires that there be a separation maintained between church and state.
For centuries, the success of a democratic society has been measured by its commitment to equality, a resounding principle central to our nation’s founding. The Enlightenment-inspired language of the Declaration of Independence, namely the age-old axiom that “all men are created equal,” pervades our perception of the American creed. However, nearly a century passed before the Lockean principles espoused in the Declaration of Independence began to bear the force of law. Entitling American citizens to due process and equal protection of the law, the Fourteenth Amendment, perhaps the most transformative Amendment of all, has inspired the steady progression of American society. Nonetheless, while the Amendment serves as the chief legal force behind the democratic goal of equality, questions regarding its achievement of that goal
Most people would link violence and crime problems with gun control in America. The debate that Americans face today is the freedom the Second Amendment gives citizens and whether or not the country should repeal it. While some people feel that repealing it should solve the problem, others believe that it is one of the most important basic freedoms we have as Americans. Federal gun control laws are unconstitutional, and I believe the Second Amendment is both an individual and state right.
The 1st Amendment forbids Congress from enacting laws that would regulate speech or press before publication or punish after publication. At various times many states passed laws in contradiction to the freedoms guaranteed in the 1st Amendment. However broadcast has always been considered a special exemption to free speech laws for two reasons. 1) the most important reasons is the scarcity of spectrum and the 2) is the persuasiveness of the medium. Because radio and TV come into the house, and may be heard or seen by unsupervised children, the government feels a special responsibility to protect the American people. As Herbert Hoover said to, "doublegaurd them."
Discuss at least one Supreme Court case of significance related to three of the provisions of the First Amendment.
The First Amendment is the first section of the Bill of Rights and is often considered the most important part of the U.S Constitution because it guarantees the citizens of United States the essential personal freedoms of religion, speech, press, peaceful assembly and the freedom to petition the Government. Thanks to the rights granted by the First Amendment, Americans are able to live in a country where they can freely express themselves, speak their mind, pray without interference, protest in peace and where their opinions are taken into consideration, which is something not many other nationalities have the fortune of saying. The Founding Fathers were the framers of the Constitution of the U.S., and the responsible for the
The first amendment is a vital and powerful tool for the everyday American. By using the power granted to us we can nip corruption before it blossoms into tyranny. With it, we can organize against a government that answers to corporate and special interests. Our strengths against corporate interests were shown when protests were held across the United
The article that I will be breaking down in the following paper is “Pornography, Civil Rights, and Speech” by Catherine A. MacKinnon. I believe the best area to start is to briefly describe MacKinnon and her article. MacKinnon is a professor of law at the University of Michigan. The article deals with the affects of pornography on society. MacKinnon feels that some pornography should be illegal. Her reason for this view is not that she finds it offensive, but rather that she considers it as a form of sexual discrimination. There are many different views on pornography ranging from the belief that it is harmless fantasy all the way to it being a prime factor of the deterioration for
The first and inargueably the most significant of the amendments to our Constitution is the First Amendment. The amendment that established our freedoms as citizens of our new confederation. The First Amendment insured, among other things, freedom of speech and of the press. Since the establishment of these rights, they have often been in question. People have debated over, "What is too much freedom?", and "When is this
As the 1960’s came to an end the meaning and importance of the first amendment became indisputable. The Democratic National Convention in Chicago, protesting against the Vietnam War and the political assassinations of the late 1960’s (with the governments’ interjection and objection) showed that the so-called