Freedom of speech had a link of positive impacts to the world. One positive impact would be the citizens questioning the government about their personal interests and opinion on free speech. This means that before freedom of speech was questioned, many citizens did not have a voice. The government was not concerned with increasing individual’s voices based on personal opinions and beliefs. When citizens began to question the government, the government had not one motive behind not giving individuals the opportunity to speak freely. This arouse more questioning and thoughts amongst citizens and government officials. The United States implemented the first amendment which is applied to all state and local governments. No one is restricted or …show more content…
It gives leverage, support and clarity to certain circumstances.
Negative Impact of Freedom of Speech
Freedom of speech can be looked as negative as well. The root of the negativity is that many citizens question of the government is responsible for diverse and chaotic environments in society today? The government refrains from helping individuals exercise their freedom of speech by stepping aside. This means that the government does not use their power pedestals to help spread the word if it is not beneficial to the government. For example, during slavery times in the early 1600 's, the slave masters did not want slaves to have a voice and to be silent always. They did not want slaves to be as smart as masters, so they can continue to be taken advantage of. Another negative impact of freedom of speech is that many emotions and feelings aren 't protected by law enforcement or the governments’ opinions and decisions. There are many risks and that comes with expressing opinions to the public that has many different views. There is a lot of hypocritical tension among ethnicity and religions. There are Muslims that are unable to dress the way they would like and then there are other religions unable to do what they would like because of freedom of speech and expression. Internet freedom of speech has the ability to be negative in
In December 1791, the first amendment was added to the constitution known as freedom of expression. The first amendment rights are freedom of religion, freedom of the press, freedom to petition, and freedom of speech. Freedom of speech is arguably the most important one in the first amendment. This amendment is the foundation of freedom in the United States. For without the first amendment, voting would not be possible and events like the Civil Rights Movement could not have happened. Martin Luther King Jr. said of the freedom of speech, “Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter” (King). Although this is not in the same context as freedom, free speech has a much larger impact on our lives than many would think. Throughout the years the definition of freedom of speech has changed due to many Supreme Court decisions. The first amendment clearly states that one is to have freedom of speech, but after that, it is not very clear on the subject. In 1798 while John Adams was president, Congress broke one of the rules of free speech with the “sedition act” that stated no newspaper could write negative articles about the government. When Thomas Jefferson was elected he released all the people who had been convicted under the sedition act and called it an “alarming infraction” (Jefferson) of the constitution. There was not another major incident over freedom of speech until the early twentieth century which involved the Schenck v United States decision
Two hundred and twenty-eight years ago our Founding Fathers gave us the freedom of expression in a document called The Constitution of the United States. It gives us the right to voice our opinions about what the government is doing and how we feel about them. It also gives us all of our other rights in the First Amendment, the right to free speech, to freedom religion, and freedom of the press. This helps our democracy run and how the people can tell our leaders if we are unhappy. At the same time it can hurt it.
These freedoms include freedom of speech, religion, press, assembly, and petition the government. All these freedoms do what they include in their names, gives people the right to do that action without the restriction of the government. Freedom of speech is what the United States thrives off of and what makes us the greatest country in the world. Freedom of speech gives each and every person their own belief, idea, and thought process without being limited on what can be said or the topic being discussed. Most other countries destroy freedom of speech at its core, forcing their people to be closed minded and given limitations. If the American government tried to take the freedom of speech away from the people the whole country would fight back as freedom of speech is a privilege that they will not let be taken away. The only form of speech that should be limited is based upon certain illegal activities or actions but other than that no limitations should be placed upon the people. Not every person is going to agree with other people's ideas and theories but they are allowed to say what they want wherever. Not a single person should have the right to be able to change the rules that have been set for hundreds of years. All the freedoms basically revolve around freedom of speech because with speech comes the right to fight the government, the right to prove your religion, to join together in a group to fight as one, and to share new to all the people of the
Freedom of speech for the citizens allow the government to run without being discriminated. Without freedom of speech the
The United States of America is a democratic society in which people are encouraged to have a voice through various outlets. We are share our opinion on various political topics through debates and quizzes. The way of advocating our opinion, and the platform in which it stands, has changed dramatically since the Europeans came to the United States. There are various ways for one to express opinions, although they do come with downsides that include lack of education and understanding how our system works.
Freedom of Speech is one of the most important factors of our Constitution. In my opinion, one of the most defining points, what makes our country, our country. For example, without freedom of speech, we wouldn’t be able to read so many opinions on important matters and would be forced to think one thing even if we believed it was false. During the Vietnam War, people were put in jail for refusing to go to war, like Muhammad Ali. It was people’s freedom of speech to not welcome the soldiers back, their individual right to not support the war. But, they still had consequences for their actions, even if it was their right. Martin Luther, Malcolm X, JFK, and many others used their individual rights, their freedom of speech, to protest for equal
When Americans are enjoying this freedom, some others abuse it to make it become worse. Therefore, people have fight for their interests by having argument that freedom of speech should be restricted or be developed. First of all, what positive impacts of free speech bring back to Americans. People feel free to express their opinions and feelings without fear. If they cannot tell their opinions, they will threat others to listen to them. Violence can be happened if freedom of speech is banned. According to “Why Freedom of Speech Should Never Be Restricted · Thomasassatly”, the author states “in order for a society to truly be free, free speech should be accepted and encouraged”. Americans were born with many freedom, freedom of speech is one of the most wonderful freedom that people have. Therefore, if they do not have freedom to express their opinion in the peaceful way, they will threaten others to listen them. Moreover, when they have no power to say what they think, they cannot be critical of government’s decisions. If they try to speak out against their government, they might be put in jail. North Korea is one of the best example for this situation, “if you speak out against the government you end up in a prison camp” (“Why freedom”). People should feel free to say whatever they want, because it is a freedom nation. If someone takes away this freedom, not only
The most significant political statement in the history of the United States is the First Amendment of the constitution. The ability to speak freely is a value that is appreciated by most American citizens. In many countries around the world, people are sent to prison, or even executed for expressing opinions not shared by the government. In the United States all government officials, no matter how powerful, must not deny people the right to voice their opinions. Even when those opinions are unfair. Free speech is probably the best known and most revered constitutional rights in the U.S., but it's not always easy to define what exactly is speech. As members of a high technological society we have many methods to express our thought, and beliefs. Especially, since we are part of an innovative society that is constantly evolving.
Freedom of speech immediately brings up in mind the First Amendment. The First Amendment protects the freedom of speech, meaning we are able to express freely in any form of communication with no worries of getting in trouble. For example, we have the right to petition the Government for a redress of grievances freely. There have been some conflicts with the First Amendment and censoring materials. But problems with freedom of speech are not as bad as other areas in the world “One example is the ‘so-called right to be forgotten,’ which allows negative information to be deleted from the Internet. Abrams stresses that even repugnant statements are more broadly protected in the U.S. speech than under many European democracies.” (Abrams, 66).
The government, with the wisdom that we're pretty sure it must have, has determined that there are a number of situations when, no, it'd really rather not let everyone have free speech. But this isn't normally to limit criticism of government. It has more to do with fairly specific cases where free speech stops the government from doing its job. Someone who works for the CIA, or otherwise has access to classified information, will find that their right to free speech doesn't extend to sharing that information freely. Which not only makes sense, it also increases the potential for slapstick comedy scenarios where the wrong DVD gets returned to the video store. Another example are gag orders, where the courts can order a person not to say something
Throughout American history, limitations on Free Speech have become a highly controversial topic, that have resulted in numerous landmark Supreme Court cases. Freedom of Speech is a fundamental right bestowed to all Americans by the First Amendment. In 1791, after much discussion and disputes, Antifederalists were successful in adopting the first ten amendments, known as the “Bill of Rights” to the Constitution. Antifederalists eagerly fought for the Bill of Rights to be included within the Constitution because they feared the Federal Government would grow too powerful, similar to a totalitarian or dictatorship form of leadership after prior experience with the British King. Due to the Constitution is a living document, various alterations and amendments have been added, which reflect the time period and society as a whole.
Free speech is granted to us when we become a citizen in America. Nevertheless, it is number one on the bill of rights. Besides the fact it is listed as number one, it is also fairly important. When people share their opinions with public we may receive a fair share of disagreement, but it does get people thinking. Freedom of speech allows us to see how each other view and think. We can take their claim into consideration and hopefully work towards a solution. Also, freedom of speech can show us that we may or may not have a problem in America. Those things are what helps to build a better, stable and peaceful community. Even in high school has this amendment had a huge impact on us and played an important role of who we are as people. During
Freedom of speech is like any machine built by human beings, if you don't take care of it, it can soon become rusty and obsolete. Freedom of speech is one of the top privileges in this country. This is why we have the Bills of Rights. Bills of Rights is the first amendments added to the constitution. It's always important to know our amendments, you never know when you might need them.
The Founding Fathers wrote free speech into the First Amendment because they wanted people to be able to speak of serious matters and of the news, which is critical in a democracy. George Washington said, “If men are to be precluded from offering their sentiments on a matter, which may involve the most serious and alarming consequences that can invite the consideration of mankind, reason is of no use to us; the freedom of speech may be taken away, and dumb and silent we may be led, like sheep, to the slaughter.” (Newburgh Address 1783). Free speech wasn’t meant for any opinion or thought that people have,
The freedom to be able to express your own opinion is an ideology that is supported by many, however the act of promoting harm or hate is where freedom should be restricted. Freedom of speech is a right for citizens of many countries, but these citizens may agree or disagree on what is allowed to be expressed. Many people share the belief that they can say anything they want because their freedom entitles them to express any opinion they would like. In contrast, many people believe that you shouldn’t be able to say anything you want and that there should be restrictions on the type of things that you can say. In the novel On Liberty by John Stuart Mill, Mill argues that freedom of speech should be limited if and when it is harming other people in the process. Mill explains this argument by stating that silencing an unpopular opinion is unjustifiable because in order to successfully express your opinion, you must listen to the criticism. I agree with Mill’s position regarding freedom of speech based on the fact that he doesn’t support hate speech, and that there should be reasonable limits on freedom of speech in order to have an ideal democratic society. This essay will outline the justifications for Mill’s argument surrounding freedom of speech, the limitations that Mill believes should be set on freedom of speech as well as the assumptions that his argument depends on, and finally my personal viewpoint on Mill’s argument. Freedom of speech is a right that should be guaranteed to every citizen around the world, however when this speech negatively affects or harms other humans in the process, it is thereby considered hate speech which must be condemned.