Hunter- What the Constitution Means to Me Final Project

The podcast host discusses the First Amendment of the Constitution and how it relates to his personal life. He explains that he is a practicing Catholic and the First Amendment protects his freedom of religion. He shares childhood memories of attending church and the significance of his first communion. He also mentions the history of anti-Catholicism in the United States and how it affected the election of the first Catholic president, John F. Kennedy. The host acknowledges that the interpretation of the First Amendment's protection of freedom of religion may vary for different individuals. He invites listeners to share their thoughts on the Constitution. Hi, everyone. Welcome back to my podcast. It is Hunter DuBois once again. And last time on my podcast, we talked about the book, What the Constitution Means to Me by Hardy Schwarwick. And I was reading through the comments, and I saw a comment that said, Hunter, what does the Constitution mean to you specifically? So today, we are going to be talking about an amendment from the Constitution that relates to my life. So before I go to bed every single night, I pray. Before every meal, I pray. Every Sunday, I pray because of the First Amendment. So the First Amendment says that Congress can make no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting its free exercise. It protects freedom of speech, the press, assembly, and the right to petition. The government of a readdress of grievances. This amendment is very personal to me and my family because I grew up very Catholic, and I actively practice Catholic traditions every single day. This amendment is prevalent to my identity because every Sunday, I have gone to church. And ever since that moment of my baptism on Father's Day in 2008, I have been going to church at least once a week. Some days in the summer, my grandma would have us even go to a 30-minute mass at 8 a.m. And me and my sister on those days would always ask her, KK, is today the quick church? Because church is only 20 minutes. On those weekday trips when church was over, we would talk to older people behind us that absolutely adored me and my sister. They would first praise us and tell my grandma how good we were during mass and how quiet and respectful we were. And then they would always ask us to plan for our day, which normally consisted of going home, having some more breakfast, and then go heading to the beach. Before we left, we always talked to priests who gave mass. My grandma basically always knew the person, so we always were there for a while. When we finally got to the car, my grandma would always say, you girls have been so good today. You can have a Father Halloran Mass. You guys are probably wondering, what the heck is a Father Halloran Mass? It's actually just a lifesaver. But the priest named Father Halloran was the one who introduced me and my sister to them. And ever since, I still to this day call them Father Halloran Mass. This is just one of the marinating church memories I have. The day I made my first communion was so magical and so special. I felt like I was a literal queen. In my white dress with all my friends walking down the aisle, it was just perfect. I've always made the joke that it was just practice for my wedding day so I could walk down the aisle perfectly. My first communion honestly was so special and truly the first time that I fully understood the concept and understood what happened at church, what the gospel meant and what the homily was for. I've always been being proud of being Catholic and honestly have not thought twice about the controversy that happens in the United States and abroad with anti-Catholicism. Anti-Catholicism was first introduced to the 13 colonies by Protestant European settlers and the original idea was composed mostly by English prudence during the British colonization of North America. This impacted the United States specifically because the United States did not have a Catholic president until John F. Kennedy was elected president in 1960. The cause of John F. Kennedy being the first Catholic president was because of social views that the citizens had on Catholics. That's why it took so long to have a Catholic president. In society, people thought Catholics would do anything the Pope told them to do. Therefore, citizens didn't want the United States being run by someone that was really just listening to what the Pope said. But this falsely accused Catholics. For example, I personally don't agree with everything the Pope believes and I don't believe everything he says. I have my own ideas and my own views. This controversy has raised so much conflict in the United States that honestly, it's taking away from the religion. Questions start to pop in your head. Is the First Amendment really protecting my freedom of religion? That is honestly up to interpretation. And to be quite honest, the answer for me is not going to be the answer to you. The Constitution means many things to many people. And to me, it only means one thing. And honestly, it's going to mean something different to everyone. This is my look into the Constitution. And in the comments below, I'd love to hear what you think of the Constitution.