Importance Of Freedom Of Speech

“If liberty means anything at all, it means the right to tell people what they do not want to hear” (George Orwell). Whether the opinion is of extreme offense or not, censorship is not the answer nor is the limitation of the freedom of speech. Emerging the truth, can only be possible through the opposition of ideas, thus with no boundries, the full protection of freedom of speech is a necessary quality of any society.

1. The measure of a great society is the ability of its citizens to tolerate the viewpoints of those with whom they disagree. As Voltaire once said, “I may disagree with what you have to say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it” (Columbia). This right to express one's opinion can be characterized as “freedom of speech.” The concept of “freedom of speech” is a Constitutional right in the United States, guaranteed under the First Amendment to the Constitution:

Free speech is by far the most commonly recognized freedom in our everyday lives. The freedom of speech allows us to voice our own opinions without the severe repercussions of some countries. It allows us to say what we really feel and helps us learn how to communicate in true and meaningful ways. Along with this freedom, we must remember that there are limits to this freedom. While being arrested “you have the right to remain silent” and anything you say can be used against you in court. This freedom is not one to be taken for

All you ever hear about in the news lately is people getting in trouble for speech. Many Americans embrace freedom of speech for the same reasons they embrace other aspects of individualism. Freedom of speech is the right to defiantly, robustly and irreverently speak one's mind just because it is one's mind. Freedom of speech is thus bonded in special and unique ways to the human capacity to think, imagine and create. Conscience and consciousness are the sacred precincts of mind and soul. Freedom of speech is intimately linked to freedom of thought, to that central capacity to reason and wonder, hope and believe, that largely defines our humanity (Smolla).

“Freedom of expression is a fundamental human right. It reinforces all other human rights, allowing society to develop and progress. The ability to express our opinion and speak freely is essential to bring about change in society.” Freedom of Speech grants you the right and privilege to speak your mind without facing any type of consequence . I strongly believe that censorship and the lack of free speech can and will cause a negative effect on our world.

Freedom of speech is perhaps the most precious tenets of liberal democracies accorded to the citizens of the free world. The United States, and the rest of the Western society is known to be the cradle of democratic principles, and this can be evidenced by the level of freedom accorded to the citizens of the United States and the West in terms of speech. The freedom of speech gives an individual an opportunity to speak his or her mind and also give his or her opinion, sometimes on very sensitive topics, without any fear of reprisal (Melkonian, 2012).

This human right has developed through each period from in war time to in peaceful time; it comes with responsible now. Freedom of speech is a basic human foundation right; hence, it cannot be lacked of in democracy nation as America. The American people have no greater freedom than that of the freedom of speech. The freedom of speech is the cornerstone of America’s free society. This freedom is also the most fragile and needs the most protection. Never take speech freedom for granted because no one knows when it might be threatened again. Whether it is from the government trying to silence those that disagree with them or if it is from an individual trying to push their agenda on the country. Never the less the freedom of speech is an essential part of the country and there is no American dream or an America for that matter if there is no freedom of speech. Someone says that, “Freedom of speech constitutes one of the essential foundations of a democratic society, one of the basic conditions for its progress and for the development” (Youth Media,

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).

Freedom of speech is critical considering that people shouldn’t be fearful to show their thoughts and beliefs. We live in a country that has freedom of speech. For this, we are very fortunate because throughout history and even today many people were and are not as fortunate to have the luxury of expressing themselves without having to worry of variant forms

The freedom to talk, the freedom to dance, the freedom to express one’s feelings are what’s most important. In Amendment One, of the Bill of Rights, the American right and freedom that which deserves celebration is Freedom of Speech -- giving each American citizen an equal opportunity to express his or her opinions about any topic. Our Founding Fathers insured that the new American government would not restrict their ability to express their thoughts or ability to criticize the actions of their government without censorship; because, they truly understood what life was like living under a government, where they had no voice and laws were enacted prohibiting their freedoms. Freedom of Speech however costly led to a more successful America. It allowed people to speak out against injustices. It allowed people to become more diverse by hearing other people’s opinions about different topics. People in America felt pride and value this right because, at the end of the day, they felt as if the government truly cared somewhat about their well-being and state of life. It provided the right for candidates to criticize the current government and

Throughout the amendments being changed, and more added in, freedom of speech always stayed, and I believe that the reason for that, is because it is extremely important for a country to have freedom of speech. Without freedom of speech, if someone learned something new, or invented something new, they wouldn’t be allowed to speak about it if they were told there were rules when it came to talking. The United States would definitely not be where it is at today of we weren’t lucky enough to have the right to freedom of speech. I am glad our soldiers fight everyday for the right to freedom of speech, because also without it, our education systems would not be as strong as they are today. In classes, we have debates on many topics, that are extremely enlightening, and allow us to support our beliefs with factual evidence. If we couldn’t speak our mind, I would be nowhere near as educated on supporting my information as I am today. However, there are many countries still today that aren’t able to have the opportunities to not conform to society and speak their own mind. Some of those countries include North Korea, Burma, Turkmenistan, Libya, and Equatorial Guinea. In fact, North Korea is the most censored country in the world. They are not allowed to have any independent journalists and all radios are set to a certain government channel and they are locked there. Could you imagine living in a world where everything is done for you and you can’t speak your own mind? If it is all you have ever known, it might not be so weird, but if I were to go to North Korea now, after living in the United States, there would be so many differences. I wouldn’t want to live in a place where words are put into your mouth, and you will get in trouble if you don’t conform with everyone else, and say what you are told to say. That is why we must uphold this freedom to make sure nothing like that happens to us, and to make sure

As American citizens we are blessed with rights that many other countries are yet to afford; of those, one of the most influential and powerful is arguably the right to freedom of speech. Its gravity is compounded when one thinks of the many American soldiers who have sacrificed their lives fighting to protect this. The limits of freedom of speech have come into question recently with the rise of the Alternative Right, Nazis, the KKK, and White Supremacists, with some cases turning lethal as witnessed in Charlottesville, North Carolina. Though the importance of having freedom of speech is very evident, the question arises of how far do individual rights extend before infringing on the rights of others. Many argue on how political correctness does more harm than good and is an obstacle in the way of intellectual debate, though this argument has no merit. Many universities and colleges are implementing hate speech codes, which are limits on certain words from being used on campuses. Rules such as hate speech codes are a step in the right direction to counteract much of the verbal expression of racism that takes place on campus.

In September 17, 1797 the US constitution was fabricated to establish a democratic government for the recently created countries. One of the bill of rights that was established by the constitution is the First Amendment that allows everyone in the US to have the freedom of speech. A variety of people believe that freedom does not contribute to democracy, but these people should acknowledge that due to the nature of democracy, it can’t stand without freedom of speech. Numerous examples of freedom of expression are able to support why freedom of speech contributes to democracy.

On this world today free speech has been a standout amongst the most battled after rights in the United Conditions of America. The right to speak freely was received on December 15, 1791. The right to speak freely is secured by the main correction in the Constitution of United States, which is the privilege to explain one’s suppositions and thoughts without dread of government countering or control, or societal endorse. Free discourse is imperative in the public arena since we are allowed to create as individuals and end up noticeably mindful of what is happening around us. The right to speak freely played an extremely vital part in how and our identity today and is the principle motivation behind why we

In large, freedom of speech is protected in the first amendment, and in several court cases it has been upheld that hate speech is also protected. So, a person can essentially say whatever they wish, if someone gets offended that is their problem, some argue this is one of the reasons why America is so great. Although, there are some exceptions to this amendment when public schools are involved. In this case it was a public university the students were attending, and the posters were on campus grounds, so these exceptions to the Amendment apply.