I understand the Establishment Clause as a limitation in the First Amendment that prevents the government from creating a religion everyone has to practice or just favoring one specific religion over any other . For example , in the reading “4.2 Securing Basic Freedoms” it states “The first of these two freedoms is known as the establishment clause. Congress is prohibited from creating or promoting a state-sponsored religion (this now includes the states too)”. This quote from the reading shows that the overall use of the Establishment Clause was to prevent the people from being forced into a specific religion by the government. The Lemon Test was a legal standard that was used to determine if a government action violated the Establishment Clause and promoted a religious practice over another. This is also supported in the text when it states “In a 1971 case known as Lemon v. Kurtzman, the Supreme Court established the Lemon test for deciding whether a law or other government action that might promote a particular religious practice should be allowed to stand”. This overall describes exactly what the Lemon Test was used for and its relation to the Establishment Clause.
Burning the US flag is protected by the First Amendment because it is a form of symbolic speech. The court case that decided this is known as Texas v. Johnson where the Supreme Court ruled the burning of the flag as a form of political protest. The Court’s decision was made based on the principle that the government can’t forbid someone’s expression towards something simply because everyone else finds it offensive or doesn’t exactly agree with it. For example, in the reading “4.2 Securing Basic Freedoms” it states “the Constitution protects most forms of offensive and unpopular expression, particularly political speech; however, incitement of a criminal act, “fighting words,” and genuine threats are not protected .” This shows that the government can’t forbid any form of expression unless it is violent or incriminating.
When someone says they’re taking the Fifth this means that they won’t be speaking on the situation to avoid accidentally incriminating themselves. The Fifth Amendment is mostly famous for the right to remain silent to protect against self-incrimination. For example, in the reading “4.3 The Rights of Suspects” it states “ the most famous provision of the Fifth Amendment is its protection against self-incrimination, or the right to remain silent. This provision is so well known that we have a phrase for it: ‘taking the Fifth’”. This shows that when someone says they’re taking the fifth it simply means they will be practicing their right to remain silent.
One thought on “Edith Veliz- Discussion Board 9.1”
Hi Edith, I personally enjoyed the way you have described both the Establishment Clause and the Lemon Test. You explained that this was done so that the government would not impose religion on the individuals or discriminate against them. I agree with your argument about Texas v. Johnson – outrage over flag burning is common, yet it is protected political speech. The way you explained the taking of the Fifth was also very lucid and was perfectly relevant to the writing. Great job!
Hi Edith, I personally enjoyed the way you have described both the Establishment Clause and the Lemon Test. You explained that this was done so that the government would not impose religion on the individuals or discriminate against them. I agree with your argument about Texas v. Johnson – outrage over flag burning is common, yet it is protected political speech. The way you explained the taking of the Fifth was also very lucid and was perfectly relevant to the writing. Great job!