With all the media around flag burning these days it makes you wonder who



With all the media around flag burning these days it makes you wonder who's right and who's wrong. Is flag burning really protected under the First Amendment and will banning it take away our freedom? On the other hand, does our Constitution need this amendment to preserve the Union? With all these questions and points being made on both sides it makes us wonder. I believe that flag burning is indeed wrong, but changing the first Amendment won't make it right, either. Everyone knows that the right way to dispose of a flag is to burn it, yet nobody objects to this. It's when people burn it in protest is when they have a problem. Is this fair? The amendment will allow you to burn the flag, depending on what your intentions are. It will strip away our freedom, until we won't have any. Some people think that being against the amendment means agreeing with flag burning and against America. That is not the case. However, not allowing people to burn the flag wouldn't make us super-patriots. In fact, it make us will do just the opposite. The First Amendment has remained here for 200 years. Altering it will only make things worse. The United States has always prided itself for giving its citizens freedom of speech. US citizens don't have to worry about speaking against its polices. Right? Well, that will all change if this amendment is passed. Then, the US will have to say, "Our citizens have free speech expect…" There shouldn't be any expect. It should be "Our citizens have free speech period." Now that you have heard my arguments against the ban on flag burning, I must ask you one question. If you believe in the perseverance of free speech in our nation, then vote no

On March 7^th, 1965, groups of demonstrators were marching peacefully until police officers forced them to stop. Without even a second warning, the police began beating and spraying tear gas on the protesters. What exactly is the horrible event in which hundreds died? Today, we know it as “Bloody Sunday” the first Selma- to-Montgomery March. Many do not realize the impact these marches made on society then and now. After the passing of the Voting Rights Act of 1964, many blacks believed that their long-awaited freedom they had fought so hard for was finally theirs. However, in 1965, most blacks were still not allowed to vote. Governors of southern states, like Governor Wallace of Alabama, would find ways to prevent blacks from voting. Examples of this were: having blacks take difficult literacy tests, pay huge poll taxes, and threatening them with violence. It was obvious that unless immediate action was taken, blacks would never have the freedom for which they yearned so hard for. This was one of the main reasons of the Selma-to-Montgomery March. Nevertheless, the straw that broke the camel’s back was when a state trooper killed 26-year-old Jimmy Lee Jackson. Jackson was killed when he tried to stop a state trooper from terrorizing his mother and grandfather. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. arrived in Selma, Alabama in January 1965. He gave such a strong obituary at Jackson’s funeral, saying, “Who killed Jimmy Lee Jackson? Every lawless sheriff…every person who just watches injustice happen…” that the citizens of Selma realized that they must do something. Then, the idea of the Selma to Montgomery march was born. The citizens of Selma decided to march fifty-four miles from Selma to Montgomery on March 7^th. Dr. Martin Luther King agreed to lead the march, but after Governor Wallace refused to allow the march, he went to D.C to talk to Lyndon B. Johnson, who was the president at the time. By then the march had already started.
On March 7^th,1965, they began marching. About 600 marchers, young and old, participated that day. However, they never made it out of Selma. Once the demonstrators arrived at the Edmund Pettus Bridge, they found the Alabama Police waiting for them, ordering them to stop.		Suddenly, the police began beating and spraying tear gas at the protesters. Hundreds were injured and killed. Later, many of the images were shown on TV and people were shocked by what they saw. Today it is remembered as “Bloody Sunday”
However, the people of Selma did not give up. On March 9^th, Turnaround Tuesday, they marched again. Although its purpose was just symbolic, the police attacked again, leaving one dead. It seemed like the situation was hopeless. How can blacks everywhere truly be free if racist people, like Governor Wallace, were in power? One would think that after two unsuccessful marches, the people of Selma would have given up. Instead, they pushed harder. After Dr. King spoke to President Lyndon B. Johnson, 25,000 people marched again on March 21^st. Furthermore, this time they finished it. The march lasted for four days but once they reached Montgomery, on March 25^th, it was all worth it. The Selma-to-Montgomery March opened the eyes of many people. The images were so powerful that no one could close their eyes to this appalling racism. Letters were sent to senators and representatives calling it to stop. Finally, six months later, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Voting Rights Act of 1965 into law. Today, many things have changed. No longer can blacks be denied access to vote. No one can give a black person a literacy test or any other type of discrimination. However, the Voting Rights Act is not permanent. In 2007, it will be decided if it should be permanent. Thirty-seven years later, some have forgotten what the march was really about. Nevertheless, the impact it had on our society is important. It shows that if a person really wants something that he or she should go for it. If the citizens of Selma had just waited for that freedom, or had let the police stop them, African-Americans would not have their freedoms today.
Good-byes -A Quatrain (AABB)- Why is it when you say good-bye All you want to do is cry. But yet, we hide it with our smiles Even though the distance will be miles.


I walked down a dimly lit hallway. I slowly turned the knob on the door ahead. As I entered the room, brilliant lights blinded me. I heard myself say in a determined voice… “This is one small step for woman. One giant leap for womankind.”
Kind…Kind…Kiinndd, my voice echoed. Oh no, it happened again, I pondered, as I observed my surroundings. The place resembled the Moon expect this one was blue. There were video cameras everywhere, recording my every word. “Who am I? Where am I?”, I asked uncertainly. The hovering camera buzzed a reply.” Ha, ha. Who are you? You’re only the history-making, award-winning astronaut who…” Suddenly, it paused. “ I think you better look behind you.”, it quivered.
Surprisingly, two aliens leapt from the bushes. The taller one whispered to the short one, “ Now you have another human to add to your collection, son.” “Goody!”, cried the little one. Just as I thought I was done for, brilliant lights blinded me again and I was back in my grandparents’ hallway. Once again, the hallway had mystified me.
Gwen Isn’t Ten -A Limerick- There once was a girl named Gwen. Who everyone said was ten. She got so frustrated She just couldn’t take it And socked who’d say it again.	Outsider -A Quatrain (ABAB)- Every day I feel like I don’t belong In a group, at a party, even in class I wonder what I’m doing wrong When kids walk right pass.
Sorry Whenever someone’s hurt By something dumb we did or had blurt The word we always say Is sorry. Sorry, the perfect word That sends the tears away. Sorry, the perfect word, That makes everything okay. But sorry just a word, It doesn’t change the past And doesn’t take the mistake away. No matter how bad you feel. Sorry is a precious word That should be used with care. For if, you don’t mean it. It’s as bad as a lie.