The First Amendment means a different things to a lot of different people. It encompasses many things that, today, could easily be taken for granted — and perhaps they are. Why? Because the United States Constitution gave us these freedoms way back in 1787, and since then they have become so ingrained in everyday life that they have become a part of everything around us.

It is this amendment that helped to define America as “the land of opportunity.” The freedom of speech, the press, the freedom to establish a religion, be a part of religion, to peacefully assemble and power to petition the government are all defined here — in the First Amendment.

Those words were more than words on a piece of paper when they were first written. They were more than guiding principles — they were the way of the future, and our founding fathers saw to it that we would get there. These are great things that touch your life in many ways.

Perhaps in the morning you read the newspaper, turn on the radio, or watch the news. Not only are you able to do these things, but you have a choice. You choose your publication, your station and your channel. Your world is awash with choice and selection.

According to the Yellow Pages, there are 64 churches and places of worship in and around Ames. You have the option of not only attending church, but to choose the religion of your choice. And, if you would rather not go to church, then that fundamental right is yours too.

Is the new government not living up to your expectations? Think you don’t have a voice? Well, President Obama is helping to redefine our ability to petition his government and the internet is helping. Log onto the White House Web site today and submit your thoughts and suggestions on the Middle Class Task Force.

And what about the Internet? There is a whole world at our fingertips just waiting to be explored. blogs, Twitter, Facebook, e-mail and instant messages — our forefathers could not have imagined how far their enterprise would propel us — and it does not stop here. Technology is continually opening new doors that we never knew existed.

Now imagine your life without any of these freedoms. It is pretty hard, but there are examples from all over the world. While it may be difficult for us to imagine living any other way, the alternative is the reality for many.

In recent weeks, scary headlines have been coming out of Thailand. Reuters reported that two people were killed and 100 others were injured when the army opened fire on anti-government protesters.

The protesters were demonstrating their increasing dissatisfaction with the economic crisis plaguing the country’s economy — a conflict that Reuters describes as “pitting royalists, the military and the urban middle-class against a less well-off rural majority.”

A new law, as reported by the Washington Post, now makes it illegal for a Shi’ite woman in Afghanistan to refuse sex with her husband stating that “a wife is obliged to fulfill the sexual desires of her husband.” Critics say that this will provide justification for marital rape. She must also now get a male relative’s permission to leave the house.

More than 100 Shi’ite women outraged at having their freedoms revoked then took to the streets in peaceful protest. They were met by close to 200 men and supporters of the law, who then pelted them with stones.

It makes one feel grateful to be living in the safety of the United States. But, are our freedoms granted in the First Amendment truly safe? Try this on for size: on Wednesday night the New York Times detailed that the National Security Agency has intercepted calls and e-mails in 2009, and they went beyond legal limits set by Congress in 2008.

The Times also reported that “the issue appears focused in part on technical problems in the N.S.A.’s ability at times to distinguish between communications inside the United States and those overseas as it uses its access to American telecommunications companies’ fiber-optic lines and its own spy satellites to intercept millions of calls and e-mail messages.”

So, that e-mail that you sent out last week to your buddy Joe detailing your exploits last weekend? Well, who knows what prying eyes were reading that — maybe the eyes of your very own government.

Feeling a little disconcerted? You are not alone. Although we have and exercise many rights and freedoms because of the First Amendment, they are at times arbitrary, sometimes the constructs of very fine lines, and are not always interminable.

But that being said, that’s why we also allow for checks. This breach is now “under scrutiny from the Obama administration, Congressional intelligence committees and a secret national security court, said the intelligence officials, who spoke only on the condition of anonymity because N.S.A. activities are classified.”

So, all is not lost, and we can still appreciate First Amendment Day — which, if you have read the Daily lately, then you know was yesterday. If you let it slip by, then take a moment to reflect — it really is a beautiful piece of legislation, without which, it’s hard to say what parts of life in America might be passing us by.

Erin Mastre is a graduate student in landscape architecture from Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.