Overall, I felt that the 4th Annual Norm Brewer First Amendment Lecture was very informative and inspiring.

       What I learned from Leonard Pitts was the importance of being knowledgeable of and grateful for one’s rights as an American citizen. During the lecture, Pitts emphasized the fact that many Americans lack a true understanding of their rights. He also seemed to emphasize the point that Americans take their rights for granted.

        It was interesting to learn that a report found that although a large percentage of high school students reported taking some sort of civics or government course, a very low percentage of those students had a true understanding of civics and government.

I also learned about the importance of fighting to preserve the first amendment, even though it may not always be easy or beneficial on a personal level. I thought Pitts’ take on there being no “call me out my name” exemption was interesting. He said that people could “call him out of his name” and criticize his faith and family, but he would say that they were within their first amendment rights (and then he would use his own first amendment rights to hold them accountable). He even went so far as to say that he would defend somebody who was in danger of being penalized for what they said.

As an aspiring journalist, I think that freedom of speech is important to the communication field, because I think that journalists need to be free to hold people accountable, shed light on something that might otherwise be covered up, highlight key issues, etc., without being penalized by a government body, in order for a true democracy to work and be worth something.