This curriculum unit for high school government or civic classes was developed as a requirement of a Fulbright-Hays Fellowship seminar in Indonesia. It deals with aspects of political control that the government exercises over citizen rights. The unit compares the situation in the United States, where the Bill of Rights guarantees the freedom of speech and expression, with that in Indonesia. Indonesia is considered a developing nation that is making steady economic progress, but its political structure does not allow for much freedom of expression in the public domain. Government, especially the head of government, the president, exercises an important role over the social, economic, and political life of the Indonesian people. The focus of the unit asks: if the political and legal structure of a country does contain some mechanism like the First Amendment that is designed to protect the rights of the individual vis a vis the government, how pervasively can that government permeate the social and economic life of its citizens? The unit is very skill oriented, using the cooperative learning approach as much as possible. Learning objectives include: (1) analyze the First Amendment of the Bill of Rights; (2) analyze political cartoons; (3) analyze editorials; (4) analyze news articles; (5) hypothesize about social, political, and economic conditions in Indonesia; and (6) compare and contrast the different societies, the United States and the Republic of Indonesia. Procedures for using the unit are suggested. Handouts include U.S. political cartoons, an interview with an Indonesian newspaper editor, newspaper and magazine articles, and questions for students. (DK)