Essay on Speak Freely: Limits of Free Speech

In the early 21st century there are many issues that arise within societies. Whether the issues are based on freedoms, rights, or power of government. The way we handle these situations is to look at the US Constitution for guidance as the country tries to figure out a solution. One issue that has been in the mainstream as of late, is freedom of speech, which is the First Amendment in the US Constitution. The controversy surrounding the first amendment comes from whether it should be instituted on college campuses or censored by professors and administrators. Ancient philosophers have written about similar issues surrounding censorship in societies and many differ in their beliefs. Plato and Thomas Hobbes would agree that creating an environment

There are four general situations in which freedom of speech should be banned. The first one is Clear and present danger: Freedom of speech will not be protected if the words that come from any person's mouth put in danger someone else, provoke violence, or even incite or suggest illegal actions. A second situation is fighting words: These are the terms socially know to rage anyone, and when they are told face-to-face to a second person, they are not protected by the first amendment because they tend to alter public order and stimulate violence. The third main situation in freedom of speech is known as libel and slander: In this situation the Supreme Court explains that when speech or communication is used to damage someone else's reputation, to lie, or to tergiversate the truth and make it look as something it is not, it is not covered under the first amendment. The forth and last boundary of the first amendment is referred to as time, place and manner: This particular scenario does not disallow the content of the speech itself, but it takes into consideration the place where the speech is given, and the way the person presents the speech. If under any circumstance the government interests or regularities are violated, the speech is not protected under the first amendment.

Citizens of the United States are privileged to the freedom of speech under the First Amendment, but the constitutional limits of the freedom of speech have been questioned on multiple occasions. Citizens of the United States have called upon the Supreme Court numerous times to interpret the meaning of the First Amendment, and the court has censored some forms of speech such as obscene speech --which has been prohibited--and indecent or pornographic speech--which has been regulated (Barrett, 1999). Public and private properties, institutions, and businesses started censoring and placing limitations on hate speech in 1980 (Roleff, p.64). Hate speech is defined as speech that attacks a person or a group on the basis of attributes such as gender, ethnic origin, religion, race, disability, or sexual orientation (Barrett, 1999). “ In law, hate speech is any speech, gesture or conduct, writing, or display which is forbidden because it may incite violence or prejudicial action against or by a protected individual or group, or because it disparages or intimidates a protected individual or group” (Barnes and Ephross, 1994). Several debates have lingered over if certain restrictions on hate speech violate the First Amendment (Simmons, 2012). Hate speech should be regulated and censored by the federal government; however, these regulations and policies will limit an individual 's freedom of speech.

Freedom of Speech means that we all have the freedom to say whatever we want and expressed our opinions freely. I think Freedom Of Speech is becoming more limited in America because in “Censored America” people will act upon if they have a different opinion or they feel offended. They will do anything such as protest or use violence if they think they have different opinion. Words can hurt some people and certain words can be offensive to others. But we should still increased limits on freedom of speech because I think we have the right to say whatever we want but it is still our responsibility choosing words carefully where no one will get hurt by the words. We should try not to abuse our right and we should be allowed to say whatever we want

With varying opinions and beliefs, our society needs to have unlimited freedom to speak about any and everything that concerns us in order to continually improve our society. Those free speech variables would be speech that creates a positive, and not negative, scenario in both long-terms and short-terms. Dictionary.com defines Freedom of Speech as, “the right of people to express their opinions publicly without governmental interference, subject to the laws against libel, incitement to violence or rebellion, etc.” Freedom of speech is also known as free speech or freedom of expression. Freedom of speech is also known as freedom of expression because a person’s beliefs and thoughts can also be expressed in other

“Whoever would overthrow the liberty of a nation must begin by subduing the freeness of speech.” These words were spoken by Benjamin Franklin, one of our nation’s founding fathers, when the United States was still a newly independent country. Free speech, which is defined as the right to express any opinion in public without censorship or restraint by the government, is a subject that is still present in the minds of many people today. At one extreme of the spectrum is a group of folks that do not care the slightest bit about free speech issues and at another end is a group of people who will vehemently fight to protect their right to free speech. In a middle ground, like most peoples’ stance, lay a large group of

America is founded on the rights to life, liberty, and property and as a part of our liberty (as well as the first amendment) we are promised the freedom of speech. However, as Ben Shapiro stated in his article, free speech has decreased throughout the years and has since become desolate in American society. The government has done everything in their power to reduce the amount of freedom for American citizens, therefore we truly don't have the ability to openly criticize any decisions made by any governmental branch. On the other hand, David Shariatmadari brings up the point that anybody can practice their freedom of speech through social media or books. While this is true, posts do get flagged and removed if they do not follow the terms and

Well getting right into the question yes I think that the U.S is definatly losing the right to speak freely. So many people now days lose their jobs or even get arrested for the stuff they say even know our constitution tells us we have the right to speak freely. So why would the government silence these people or even collages and businesses silence them and or fire them. I mean they have the right to do it so let them is it really going to affect you. It will affect you if you fire them for a very bad reason and they fight back. These people should know that it is there right to speak as they wish and say what they feel.

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

Let’s face it- today, the sensitivity of America has reached its peak. Any individual with an opinion that deviates from the norm is thrown into the social blender, scrutinized, and bashed into a pulp by all others. Express a liberal viewpoint in a room full of Republicans and suddenly you’re an ass. Express a Republican viewpoint in a room full of liberals and suddenly you’re the elephant in the room. At a time like this, you must filter your every move. If you draw a picture of Mohammad or express your anti-gay marriage viewpoint or- god forbid- wear a T-shirt with GIRLS on it, you are an immediate target for an onslaught of criticism at the societal level. How dare you practice the American right to free speech! Did you really think

In many countries around the world, the right to freedom of speech has been upheld for citizens. Freedom of speech is the idea that any person can express their opinions without being punished. In the United States freedom of speech has been declared an unalienable right to every citizen. This was declared when the United States was founded hundreds of years ago. This declaration has yet to be made for every place in the world. There are still many people who are being oppressed by their country’s government or other organizations. Everyone should have the right to freedom of speech, but many people are censored.

Madison's version of the speech and press clauses, introduced in the House of Representatives on June 8, 1789, provided: ''The people shall not be deprived or abridged of their right to speak, to write, or to publish their sentiments; and the freedom of the press, as one of the great bulwarks of liberty, shall be inviolable.''1 The special committee rewrote the language to some extent, adding other provisions from Madison's draft, to make it read: ''The freedom of speech and of the press, and the right of the people peaceably to assemble and consult for their common good, and to apply to the Government for redress of grievances, shall not be infringed.''2

v“What is he doing here? Isn’t this class designated for native speaker?” a girl sitting in the back said that loudly. This is the first sentence I heard when I first walked in a senior English class, which is open for everyone including international students. To be honest, these kind of racism speech carves into my high school memory and will never be forgotten; however, any type of free speech including hate speech and discrimination are not strictly limited by the First Amendment. Recently, David Greenald, the founder of the Davis Vanguard as well as a free speech purist, claims that Milo Yiannopoulos, a radical speaker, should be allowed to lecture in UC Davis. Yes, the issue of whether free speech has threaten our society has been doing

Freedom is speech is becoming very politically correct these days meaning it is becoming harder to say what you want when you want. The first amendment is a constitution that gives you the freedom to say what you want as long as you are not inciting crime, using

Residing in a nation that is diverse in every aspect freedom of speech is a factor that impacts our daily lives. According to The United States Census, which states that as of 2016 there are approximately “323.1 million (https://www.census.gov/popclock/) ” documented citizens living in the United States of America. Having the individual right to freely speak out on ones beliefs without persecution from the government. Can either have a negative impact on other members in society, or can impact individuals is a positive manner. As a result of our nation being a melting pot, that has a vast amount of religions, cultures, genders, and ethnic races. The outcome of these results in, there being citizens who have different, emotions, ideas, mindsets, opinions, and beliefs. With these different outlooks on