Name: Ashley S.

School: Townsend Middle School

Age: 8th

October 15th, 2021

What does the US Constitution mean to me?

The Constitution of the United States is a document with a set of laws. These
laws are written to restrict the power of the government, more than the citizens. The
Constitution may mean different things to different people and that’s fine. What the
Constitution means to me is freedom. It means we have the right to choose and make
our own decisions.

The first amendment includes Freedom of Speech. This is important because it
means we can say what we want, and express our opinion. This means people can’t get
angry, or automatically say we are lying. This is important to me, because I express my
opinion quite often, and I don’t really care what people think. It is obvious that some
people may be offended by some things that I might say, even if it isn’t directed toward
them. However, because of the First Amendment they can’t just arrest me for it. We also
have Freedom of the Press included in this amendment. This means we have the
freedom to write what we want. I find this interesting because it includes social media. If
we post something on Facebook, and we get our accounts suspended for posting our
opinion, that isn’t exactly right. I know a couple of people who have either got their
accounts suspended or have been kicked off of a group on Facebook because they
expressed their opinion.

The part about the First Amendment may not have seemed to answer the main
question of this whole thing very much, other than the fact that some people don’t like
some things I might say, but they can’t arrest me. That was, however, a strong part of
the question. The First Amendment keeps me (and some other people I know that enjoy
expressing themselves) from being personally victimized just because some person is
offended by something we say, even if it isn’t directly stated toward them.

The Constitution gives us all freedom, and it means the government can’t control
all of what we do. If I don’t want to do something, and it isn’t an official law (in which I
could get in legal trouble for not doing something), I don’t have to do it. For example,
businesses can’t fire people for having the freedom to choose something, and then
choosing against what the business wants. This is completely unfair. A way this helps
me personally, is I can’t get kicked out of school for choosing to do something that I
have an option to choose or not. For example, if I have an option to be quarantined if
I’m contact traced for COVID, but the school would rather I be quarantined, they can’t
kick me out of school if I have an option and I choose to stay in school. This helps me
out, because I can get a better education in school. I bring this up, because it is easier
for me to stay in school than it is to be out of school. For example, when we were all
doing online school when I was in sixth grade, and I was confused about something, I
had to email one of my teachers instead of just going to their desk. This became a
burden, because I had to wait for who knows how long to receive an email back.

The Constitution means a lot to me, because it means I’m a free person. It
means I’m just myself, and the government can’t control that. Obviously there are
consequences for doing something stupid, but they can’t choose what I do with my free
time or anything. I get to choose a lot of things that go on in my life. The Constitution of
the United States is extremely important, because I don’t know what I would do, or who
I would be without freedom. The current government doesn’t always like some of the
things we might choose as people, but if we have the option to choose something, we
can choose whatever option we want. We can’t be in trouble, or be fired from our jobs
just because we choose the option we want, not what the government wants. If we have
an option, we get to choose which one would benefit us the most. This is why the
Constitution is important to me, because I know it helps me be myself, and not who
someone else wants me to be.

In conclusion, the Constitution of the United States means freedom. Freedom to
be myself, and to have options. Options for what I do with my life, and for who I am. It
means I can’t be fired from where I work (when I’m older of course), or kicked out of
school for choosing an option that benefits me the most. I can also choose what I do
with my free time, what I want to do when I’m older, and who my friends are. It means I
have so many freedoms, and the citizens have more power than the government.