COLTON: Welcome to Cracker Croakers for Wednesday, January 15, 2019. I'm your host Colton Wyatt. Candice Bergeron is on assignment. She'll rejoin us tomorrow. Today, I'm going to discuss the 1st Amendment. Everybody knows the first ten amendments of the United States Constitution provide the Bill of Rights Carefully constructed by the Founders of our great nation, the Bill of Rights guarantee our liberties are not infringed on. They also protect us from the government...and on occasion, from ourselves.

The 1st Amendment is called "freedom of speech," "freedom of assembly," "freedom of religion," and "freedom of the press". Guess what, the 1st Amendment is all of these and a bag of chips. We owe it to ourselves to exercise these rights responsibly. Unfortunately, the 1st Amendment is far too frequently abused by those who do not fully comprehend what the Founding Fathers of the United States established.

What exactly does the 1st Amendment say? It reads "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibit the free exercise thereof, or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press, or the right of people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances."

What needs to be remembered is that freedom of assembly does not justify looting and rioting by those who believe they have been maltreated in an unjust manner. American citizens possess the right to express their opinions.

The freedom of press does not provide provisions for media personnel to conjure malicious lies or to misrepresent the truth. The American public has developed a certain disdain for the press, especially those who unabashedly have forgotten journalism should be unbiased. Deception, blame, and hatred are the new watchwords that have replaced diligence, reliability, and responsibility for too many media personnel.

Reported news inevitably becomes online discussion, and social media has become a good outlet to debate views. However, not everything on the Internet can be believed. Oftentimes those stories are embellished and important fragments of facts are omitted. Unfortunately, and too often, so is news reported on television, on the radio, and in print. Ever heard the expression whatever sells the most copies?

Yes, the overall credibility of the press has been compromised, but its necessity has not been diminished. Investigative reporting produces many acts of corruption and misconduct that otherwise may be overlooked.

Keep in mind the role of the media is not to be the judge, jury, and executioner. It is to report the news accurately and inform the public. They are quite capable of forming their own conclusions. Fake news is to be loathed and, no doubt about it, bad news exists. However, good news reporting should not be compared to the bad apples.

Two reasons prevail as to why the media is disliked by some members of the public who wish to squelch the media unless there is something gained by the story: ambiguity and misrepresentation. It is my opinion all aspects of the 1st Amendment must be exercised in a responsible manner and never compromised. This is how I see the issue.

I invite you to join Candice and I again tomorrow for another entertaining edition of Cracker Croakers (Featuring Candice and Colton).