The System of Today
The great country we live in has changed in many ways since our founding fathers fought Great Britain to establish the United States of America as an independent nation. I am sure Thomas Edison would be over the moon about the invention of the internet, and George Washington would be excited to see a good dentist. However, the national government at this given point in time might be not as pleasing to our nation’s creators. When creating this country the fore fathers were trying to get away from a strong central government that dominated over everyone. Instead their aim was to create a democracy, a place where state’s right and individual rights could change the national government if need be. Nowadays it is doubtful that
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United States, 403 U.S. 713, 91 S.Ct. 2140, 29 L.Ed.2d. 822 (1971). In this case, widely known as the “Pentagon Papers”, the Supreme Court sided with the New York Times and Washington Post. The verdict upheld the first amendment and allowed the public the ability to see how the government was really handling the Vietnam War. To win a case like this shows that the national government would have a very difficult time trying to impose censorship on the press. This gives the people the ability to print and publish a laundry list of articles that could inform and sway the American public to participate on issues about the national government. Another case that shows the power of the first amendment is Texas v. Johnson (1989). In this case it shows that even if something is found to be offensive or an act that not everybody agrees with does not be it can be prohibited by anyone, including the national government. Finally, the last Supreme Court case I will provide is Tinker v. Des Moines (1969). This court case I find crucial to me personally because it shows that no matter what your age, social standing, or political affiliations you cannot be ordered to repress your personal beliefs if they are not hurting anybody. Court cases such as these would not have the same outcome if it was the state fighting against the national