Ernest Istook: “I think that the dissent into that minutia or trivia is not the intent of any constitutional amendment. For example, we…”

“I think that the dissent into that minutia or trivia is not the intent of any constitutional amendment. For example, we have many rights that the U.S. Constitution expresses in absolute terms. Let us take free speech. The Constitution says that we have the right to free speech. It is in the First Amendment. It does not say there are any limits whatsoever on it. But right now, if a student does not like what is going on in social studies, they can not insist, oh, I am going to start talking about math or English or some other topic. You still have requirements for orderly behavior, whether it be free speech or whether it be someone that might be wishing an opportunity to have a prayer at public school. The courts have recognized that there are time, place, and circumstance requirements of reason. By the same token, free speech is not absolute, because obscenity, pornography are not protected by free speech. The right of free speech does not give someone the right to libel or slander someone without bearing legal responsibility for the results of that act.”