Throughout the history of the United States, citizens have practiced their constitutional right to assemble. Very recently, citizens have been filling the streets with protests and demonstrations, but at what cost to the average citizen?  Every action has a consequence, whether it’s good or bad, and what someone does will always have an effect, whether it is minor or large.

In January of this year, radical liberal protesting broke out in dozens of busy airports across the United States following Trump’s temporary immigration ban on terror-prone countries. This protesting, although a constitutional right, was at the expense of the many passengers trying to make their flight.  The roadways were blocked to most of the airports and no protester stopped to think about the civilians picking up family members, or the parents and children waiting to board their flights.

ESPN commentator Sage Steele was directly affected by these protests. She herself was trying to board a flight out of LAX airport when the protesting was underway.

“So THIS is why thousands of us dragged luggage nearly two miles to get to LAX, but still missed our flights,” Steele posted on Instagram. “Fortunately, a seven-hour wait for the next flight to Houston won’t affect me that much, but my heart sank for the elderly and parents with small children who did their best to walk all that way but had no chance of making their flights.”

Not only has the recent protesting been a disruption to the function of society, but some of the protests have turned violent. Protesting always has the chance to turn violent and even deadly. Protests on occasion can turn into riots and innocent lives get taken from what started as civil disobedience.

In Portland, Ore. following Trump’s election, several so-called peaceful protesters smashed the windows of businesses and burned flags. Any dictionary wouldn’t call that a peaceful protest; they would call it anarchy. Those who were arrested at the scene cried out that their constitutional rights were being infringed upon. The constitution doesn’t permit acts of violence, anarchy and smashing windows during what was supposed to be a peaceful protest.

It is very understood, and the point has been made very clear that Americans are very opinionated people, and that is a wonderful thing. The American citizen’s constitutional right to assemble is an important one, but as an active citizen and functional member of society, one must consider the long term effects on daily life they cause.