We The People: Bill of Rights (on Netflix)
Part I: Lyrics These Are Your Rights by Adam Lambert
Back before 1789
We had to make the constitution a law
But I refused to sign on the line
Until we had amended a flaw
A big one
See, we just had a king who was crazy with power
We fought a whole war to break free
I said, “You want me to sign it, we’ve gotta refine it
So it can’t be used against me
Let’s limit what this government can do
(Let’s limit what this government can do)
And make sure it always works for me and you!”
(Make sure it always works for me and you)
These are your rights!
I wrote ’em down!
So that you’ll never bow down to a crown
These are freedoms you have every day
Because of the Bill of Rights
No one can take ’em away ([?])
Number ONE!
We made a glorious mess (We made a glorious mess)
And gave the people freedom of speech (Gave the people freedom of speech)
We also did the same for the press
And for all religions, you wanna preach
The second amendment’s the right to bear arms
Which were very different back in my day
Today’s guns have led to a raging debate
And everybody must have their say
Number three – we all don’t know so well
It says soldiers cannot use our homes as their hotel
These are your rights!
Hip hip hooray
They make the USA the USA
It’s a good start but there’s many more
What are we up to, three?
Let’s start into four
The cops can’t enter your home
Unless they have a reason and a warrant to look
They can’t take away your stuff or tap your phone
If they do, they have to go by the book
Everyone’s heard of pleading the fifth
They get that from amendment five (The right to stay silent)
Then there’s due process, the right to a trial
Six and seven keep justice alive
Number eight is a simple and serious rule
That if you are punished it cannot be cruel
My favorite amendment’s nine and ten
Say all other rights
Not mentioned here
Revert to the people again
(And there’s been more amendments, the constitution’s never done)
These are your rights
They keep you free
They keep our country a democracy
People test them every day; it’s true
That’s where it comes to you
These are your rights
Learn what they are
They may not be perfect but they’ve worked so far
In a world that’s changing every day
We gotta keep up the fight
They’re your Bill of Rights!
For your Bill of Rights!
Don’t let ’em take ’em away
Part II: Questions
To me, I think the most important right for a citizen to have in a free country is to have your own natural rights and equal rights with everyone. Another important right is to be able to be free to make your own decisions and do what you want without someone ruling over you. For a student’s rights, for all students to have the same knowledge as every student should get to be able to learn and think, connecting to the importance of life for people.
I strongly believe that all citizens should have the same equal rights as everyone should, and no one should get a right over someone else, because for example, if the President had a bigger right than regular citizens, it would just be like King George lll all over again. Another reason for this is because everyone has natural rights, and we are all human so we should all be treated equally. If some people had a stronger right over other people, it would get chaotic, and there would be a Revolutionary War ll! And no one wants that.
I think some people’s rights should be limited. For example, some rights like the right to go anywhere you want by law and policies, should not have a limit, but something that should be limited for specific causes can be, for example, the right to bear arms. I think that it should be limited because if it had no limits people could overhunt animals, and it could be dangerous because they could use weapons on people and when they aren’t supposed to.
I think that there are some rights that we don’t necessarily have, that I believe we should. For example, I believe that people shouldn’t be able to animal test with makeup products. I also think that people should not kill animals such as sharks and bears for no reason. I also think smoking should be permanently banned, and everyone should have electric cars and solar power. I also have many more ideas to improve the world and make it a better place.