Sheehan had every right to protest the war by demonstrating outside of President Bush’s home because she did so in a way that is legal. She was not on private property and she was in no way violent. However, in her protest on October 27^th outside of the White House, she arranged a “die-in” where she and her fellow protesters lay in front of the White House to protest those who died in Iraq she broke a law. Protests outside of the White House are required to have a permit in an effort to maintain security in a post-9/11 environment.

Furthermore, American citizens can also protest fair trade, animal rights, abortion, or any issue they feel to be important and should be able to do so without fear of persecution as long as they stay within the boundaries of their own rights and do not interfere with the rights of others. For example, protesters can hold watch over a company which produces fur coats and create a picket line. However they can not throw red paint on someone wearing a coat made of fur.

The First Amendment is very crucial to the way of life that Americans lead, however, because in American society this amendment has become an expectation, handed to us by our founding fathers and can never be taken away. Many people are even unaware of when they are even exercising the right because it is hard to picture a time when they could not. Because freedom of speech is all this country has known, one must travel outside the borders to find a situation where they can not speak freely.  Instead of being aware that people had to fight and die for the opportunity to speak one’s mind, Americans tend to feel that speaking out in disagreement is a God-given right.