In an era characterized by various levels of zero-tolerance school dictums, it shouldn't surprise anyone that schools aren't teaching students about their freedoms, but I was surprised at just how ignorant students have become about the basic freedoms of a free society. The press release for a new survey gives an overview:

Jan. 31, 2005
WASHINGTON, D.C. -  A new national study, the largest of its kind, says America's high schools are leaving the First Amendment behind.

In particular, educators are failing to give high school students an appreciation of the First Amendment's guarantees of free speech and a free press, say researchers from the University of Connecticut, who questioned more than 100,000 high school students, nearly 8,000 teachers, and more than 500 administrators and principals.

The two-year, $1 million research project, titled "The Future of the First Amendment," was commissioned by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation.

Here are some revealing numbers from the survey results (pdf)

Do you agree or disagree that:

People should be allowed to express unpopular opinions
Students 83% agree
Teachers 97% agree
Principals 99% agree
Adults 95% agree

Newspapers should be allowed to publish freely without government approval of stories
Students 51% agree
Teachers 80% agree
Principals 80% agree
Adults 70% agree

The relatively low number of students agreeing with those two statements, especially in relation to press freedom is really discouraging. I would have thought that students would be pretty tolerant, as they are in response to the next two statements:

Musicians should be allowed to sing songs with lyrics others may find offensive
Students 70% agree
Teachers 58% agree
Principals 43% agree
Adults 59% agree

H.S. students should be allowed to report controversial issues in their student newspapers w/o approval of school authorities
Students 58% agree
Teachers 39% agree
Principals 25% agree
Adults 43% agree

Evidently students are more tolerant when it comes to freedoms that are important to them. But... it's not just the students who reserve their tolerance for freedoms that interest them. 99% of principals tolerate unpopular opinions in general, but only 25% extend that to controversial issues in student newspapers.

The truly shocking response is that only 51% of students agree that newspapers should be allowed to publish freely without government approval of stories. From the very beginning of our nation, freedom of the press has been of primary importance. That importance was highlighted by its position in the very first amendment to our Constitution... those amendments we refer to as the Bill of Rights:

"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances."

Notice that this statement makes it abundantly clear whom these natural rights must be protected from.

It doesn't simply say that the people have these rights, or that the people must honor these rights among themselves; it specifically demands that CONGRESS must not violate them. That was the threat against which these amendments were to protect us... our own elected representatives. The idea that government should have any right to approve, disapprove, or censor the news is inimical to our having a free society. That almost half of high school students don't understand that is a very serious indictment of their education.

The Constitution was finally ratified by the states and became binding on June 21, 1788. As if to prove that even the most basic and hallowed of rights is not long safe from political leaders, it took only until July 14th, 1798 before Congress and President John Adams implemented the Sedition Act, legislation really designed to silence Republican criticism of the Federalists. Its broad definition of spoken or written criticism of the government, the Congress, or the President virtually nullified the First Amendment freedoms of speech and the press. Under this legislation twenty-five men, most of them editors of Republican newspapers, were arrested and their newspapers forced to shut down.

Many Americans questioned the constitutionality of these laws. Indeed, public opposition to the Alien and Sedition Acts was so great that they were in part responsible for the election of Thomas Jefferson, a Republican, to the presidency in 1800. Once in office, Jefferson pardoned all those convicted under the Sedition Act, while Congress restored all fines paid with interest.

Since then, the First Amendment has held a revered, and deserved, place in our society.

"The First Amendment gives us this society. The other provisions of the Constitution really only embellish it."
William J. Brennan, U.S. Supreme Court Justice

"The First Amendment is often inconvenient. But that is beside the point. Inconvenience does not absolve the government of its obligation to tolerate speech."
Justice Anthony Kennedy, U.S. Supreme Court Justice

"Freedom of the press is not an end in itself but a means...to a free society."
Felix Frankfurter , U.S. Supreme Court Justice

"Were it left to me to decide whether we should have a government without newspapers, or newspapers without a government, I should not hesitate a moment to prefer the latter."
Thomas Jefferson

"The free press is the mother of all our liberties and of our progress under liberty."
Adlai E. Stevenson

"Our liberty depends on the freedom of the press, and that cannot be limited without being lost."
Thomas Jefferson

That almost half of our young people don't understand or don't agree that freedom of speech and press is essential is a most dangerous sign for the future of our society. As has been true since the Bill of Rights was added to our Constitution, it is precisely our own government against whom we must protect our natural liberties. Government censorship or manipulation of the press is a sure step toward totalitarianism.

Depending on government schools to teach our young people that liberty must be protected from government is very much like expecting wolves to teach young sheep about the dangers of predators.