American Nazi Party, Skokie, Il

The Nationalist Socialist Party of America (American Nazi Party) had a right to march in the street in Skokie, Illinois in 1977 because the First Amendment protects their right to free speech, free press, and peaceably to assemble. The Nazis, like all citizens, are entitled to their political beliefs, even if those beliefs are sending hate messages, as long as there is not a clear and present danger, they can vocalize those beliefs. There was no clear and present danger because the Nazis had no plans to harm any citizen of Skokie, even if their message was one of hate towards those of Jewish faith. The printed materials that were being dispersed did have messages of hate but as long as there were no actions of hate, they were still protected. People that would say they do not have a right would claim that these printed materials are the threat that would be unconstitutional, and although most Americans would disagree with these beliefs, the right of the Nazis to feel this way is warranted under the constitution. The Nazis are entitled to their religious beliefs and practices, and although we do not typically look at the Nazis as a religious party, they are anti-semantic, which is itself a belief towards a religious group. In the American justice system law and morality often are different. In a case such as this, we have to set aside our own moral and political beliefs in order to decide if the Nazis are within their constitutional right. We have to be careful if we decide to start censoring political groups because we do not agree with their beliefs because we could start falling down a slippery slope. We must remember that the Constitution is an ever-changing document that evolves with the times. My best argument would be that as long as we do not want to lose our right to have our own beliefs, we should be careful in deciding whether or not others have a right to do as they please with their own beliefs. Since I have never really been in a formal type of deliberation such as this I learned much about how people think. I saw that it is hard for others to set aside their moral beliefs when discussing a topic such as this one, whether or not the National Socialist Party of America had a right to march in Illinois. I heard a few times, “I guess it is hard to side with Nazis for any reason”. I completely understand this, because I too have a negative feeling towards the anything regarding the Nazi party. I also learned that many people did not know the true spiritual meaning of the “Swastika”, loosely meaning “good existence”. I’ve always known that people are usually unwilling to be open to different sides of arguments, especially when there is a moral and ethical question but I feel that we should preserve and defend everyone’s First Amendment right in order to protect ourselves from the same potential oppression. In the future, I have to help in a persuasive yet subtle way to let others see a different point of view. I attempted to use analogies to help others see, but the power of the Nazis’ hate was much too strong to persuade others to see.

All of my group members were very productive, interactive, and creative during the discussion forums but each person had their own strengths. For the most part we all agreed on the topic at hand but we kept an open mind about alternatives. We tried to remember that we do live in a free country, one in which people are allowed to believe whatever they want which is a right protected under the First Amendment. While we all stayed on task and continued to discuss our opinions and beliefs about the given prompt, Alex Schmier could easily be the person to stand out because she always brought us back to the. We all had a certain notion against the American Nazi party march but Alicia Morris was very adamant about how she felt and she used smart reasoning in trying to persuade the other group members to believe her argument. While we all asked each other questions and had a fluid discussion, Brad was continuously asking each member questions like “why do you think that?” Brad was also very respectful to other people’s opinions and wanted to hear what we each had to say but also provided each person who spoke with feedback to what he thought. Alan and April tried to utilize disagreements as an opportunity to grow. They both were always hoping to hear a different side of an argument and encouraged it. It was difficult for all of us to have an opportunity for learning because we all felt similarly. I will say that I am one of the few that took the view that the American Nazi Party had a right to march. I heard the same feedback from almost everyone in the group, that it was full of hate and promoted violence. I hope that my colleagues will be more open in the future. I feel that this was my strength, being able to set my personal opinions aside and look at it from an unbiased standpoint. I need to work on vocalization of my arguments as I am often just a spectator and listen to everyone else even when I have a strong opinion about something. I need to take opportunities of breaks in others’ speech to speak myself.