"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances."
The first amendment of the Constitution of the USA is as stated above. The balances in this amendment are restrictive and freeing, for it limits certain powers of the government and gives certain powers to individuals.
"Congress shall make no law," acknowledging or fortifying a religious institution, but they cannot stop one from free exercise of a religion. In addition, the government cannot make a law that minimizes and limits one's opinions or the press. If there are grievances, the people have the right to peaceably protest and write the government to address the grievance. Thus, the government cannot make a law but if there is a grievance brought to them by the people, they can ban or bar what is causing the grievance.
Now, how do they choose if it is a proper grievance and not a populist grievance? The answer was provided in the first part. The grievance must be filtered through the Five Aims of the USA and after, through the Bill of Rights. This is the balance to the check that is produced by this amendment. If the grievance is of populist mentality, it is the job of the government to educate and teach the people the reasoning they cannot adhere by their grievance. If it is a proper grievance (one that filters through the Five Aims of the USA and has some coherence to it), it then is filtered through the Bill of Rights. This will allow the proper grievance to demonstrate whether or not it has issues that was not noticed when it was filtered through the Five Aims of the USA. This whole process is to ensure that the USA is not gripped by a certain identity.
If a person is unaware of his or her rights, they will be doomed to laws that establish religions, prevent religious expression, limits free speech and press, and the right for people to protest peaceably. Ultimately ignoring the powers that an individual has, which is a detriment to democracy.