The First Amendment is dead in that their is an assault on the freedom of speech (such that making a video of mohammed results in jail sentences), press (such that journalsist are being surveilled and prosecuted) religion (such that if you are a baker you can't refuse to participate in a gay wedding on religious grounds).
First Amendment is an amendment that deprives the States of any power to pass on the value, the propriety, or the morality of a particular expression, for the censor is always quick to justify his function in terms that are protective of society.
The First Amendment is concerned with studiously defining the manner of separation of church and state, the specific ways, in which there shall be no concert or union or dependency one on the other.
The First Amendment is often inconvenient. But that is besides the point. Inconvenience does not absolve the government of its obligation to tolerate speech.
The First Amendment is not, in every respect, arguing that there shall be a separation of Church and State. Otherwise the state and religion would be aliens to each other - hostile, suspicious, and even unfriendly.
The First Amendment is an amendment that requires that we must allow protests even against the moral code that the standard of the day sets for the community.
The First Amendment is, at its core, a recognition of the fundamental importance of the free flow of ideas. This is not only an aspect of individual liberty but essential to the quest for truth and the vitality of society as a whole.
