In the First Amendment, our founding fathers gave Americans the right to peacefully assemble. In other words, to peacefully protest. However, in recent times the line between chaotic and peaceful seems to be blurred.

This past year has been filled with protest. In the Black Lives Matter Movement, protests have taken play all around the United States. But how peaceful can these protests be said to be? From officers to civilians being killed, we seem to have lost the peace. In Dallas, Texas, 12 officers were shot and five were killed. That surely doesn’t seem peaceful to me.

How can we as Americans keep the peace, and who gets to decide what peaceful really is? After Donald Trump was elected president, rallies were started all over to protest his election. Standing outside his buildings, shouting “not my president,” shutting down freeways and other streets, attacking his character. How are any of these peaceful?

The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines peaceful as quite calm without noise or excitement. Dictionary.com defines it as free from war strife commotion violence or disorder. If you look at protest today I don’t think any protest would be considered very peaceful according to the dictionary.

If we are really going off those definitions, then the only protest that can really be peaceful is a petition, and let’s face it, those are usually not very effective. Does it take one person to file a noise complaint, or do people have to die for it to become disorderly?

In order to have a protest, I don’t think there is any way for it to be peaceful. You will always be disrupting someone. No matter where you go, someone will either be offended or say your chant is too loud. But maybe the first amendment needs to be revised. Maybe it needs to say that we have the right to any protest. Because the whole peaceful protest thing does not seem to be working out for Americans.