According to the Bill of Rights, we are afforded the freedom of speech through the first amendment. But this awarding of freedom is only allowed if it goes along with what the general population deems “normal”. During the middle part of the 1900’s many books were banned on political, religious, and moral views. While our society has changed these issues are still prevalent in today’s public views and opinions of author’s work. These books are not “normal” and that is why they play an unprecedented part in literature today. Books written in this era had a different political, religious, and moral atmosphere than those written in the modern day; but these same issues arise in today’s society. The history of the United States has had extraordinary highs but also has been marred by dark times by movements and figures. A great example of my previous statement is the decade of the 1950’s. The 1950’s was a time of scrutiny. McCarthyism and the Red Scare was at a fever pitch. The Civil Rights Movement had not even been conceived. Also, the people were jumping out of the frying pan into the fire in a sense because of just getting out of World War II and entering the Korean War. The first controversial book I would like to talk about is The Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger published in 1951. The Catcher in the Rye is about Holden Caulfield’s life as a 16-year-old recluse in New York City trying to find his way in life and his rebellion against the norm (Salinger).
In order to find truth to anything, one must make multiple suggestions, ask many questions, and sometimes ponder the unspeakable. Without doing so, there would be no process of elimination; therefore, truth would be virtually unattainable. Now, in our attempts to either find truth, express our beliefs and opinions, or generally use the rights we are given constitutionally, we are often being criticized and even reprimanded. Our freedom to voice our opinion(s) is being challenged, as critics of free speech are taking offense to what seems like anything and everything merely controversial and arguably prejudice. As people continue to strive for a nation free of prejudice and discrimination, where everyone is equal, safe and
Under the First Amendment’s Free Speech Clause a public flag burning in protest of a recently enacted law would protected because it is a form of expression (Hall, 2015). The Supreme Court has recognized more than just spoken words are protected rights under the Free Speech Clause, and freedom of expression through acts are included, so flag burning is a protected right (Hall, 2015). Next, an advertisement for potato chips found on a billboard is also protected under the Free Speech Clause. The advertisement is considered visual and written expression, which is a protected form of expression (Hall, 2015). Last, the placing of a hand over one’s heart while the national anthem is played is another form of nonverbal expression (Hall, 2015).
Free Speech is the American’s most important and used privilege provided by the First Amendment to the United States Constitution. Every American use this technique to express their beliefs and it is most often attacked freedom by the government. Although many critics argue for the unlimited boundaries and lesser interruption by the government to the freedom of speech, I support the systematical restrictions by the government. In my opinion, the extent of free speech is somewhere it can persuasive to its audience as well as less insulting to its opposing ones. I think it is offensive to insult any religious beliefs for the actions led by some members of the religion. For example, Muslims, we cannot pressure them to move from American
The freedom of speech protected under the Frist Constitution in addition to other beloved values has often struggled in the world with its concept of what’s exactly determined as free speech and what’s not. In other words what’s free speech meaning that a person can state his or her personal opinion as opposed to Hate speech which is meant to offend threatens and insults groups, based on race, color, religion, national origin, sexual orientation, disability, or other traits. It seems that in some circumstances the law has to decide to protect some and not others. Take the case Miller vs Davis (2015) as an example of the law deciding which person to protect. A woman named Miller Davis a country clerk of Rowan County, Kentucky refused to issuance marriage license to same sex couples. She claims to as, doing so would go against her religion and would continue to not give out licenses as she was protected under the Frist Constitution. Davis said in a Kelly File Interview,” Same sex unions destroy the sanctity of marriage”. To some this may have been seen as someone just practicing their right but denying someone their right to marriage based on sexual orientation is a hate crime. That was the difference that made the couple Carmen and Shannon Wampler-Collins and three other anonymous couples file a lawsuit against Davis. The lawsuit claimed that Davis was breaking the law by not giving all couples including same sex couples a license for marriage. Admittedly that’s where this
After reading the transcript of the speech, “The Spirit of Liberty”, given by federal judge for more than 50 years, Learned Hand, who served most of the time on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in New York, my idea of what it means to be an American was slightly shifted. The statement made by Hand which really caught my attention was, “What do we mean when we say that first of all we seek liberty? I often wonder whether we do not rest our hopes too much upon constitutions, upon laws and upon courts. These are false hopes.” I agree with Hand in the sense that the constitution can only serve purpose to our country if we, as Americans, learn to be truly accepting.
Even though freedom of speech can be tricky, being able to excogitate is key to understanding what can be said under the first amendment is key. This will give you more confidence when you're talking about current events, it'll inhibit social interaction, but the biggest reason of all is understanding your rights will keep you out of jail. Even the supreme court struggles to determine what exactly constitutes protected speech. When trying to see if your covered by the first amendment, certain questions have to be displayed. Are we free to say whatever we want? Exactly what is freedom of speech, what can I say, and what can't I say and still be covered by the first amendment? Understanding the dilemma that freedom of speech just like anything
The right to free speech is one of the most precious rights an individual has as a citizen of the United States of America. This right gives people the opportunity to speak their mind and give their opinions of what they think should happen. These rights have been questioned and debated throughout history, and have produced extremely positive things in a lot of cases. The controversy of these rights are not secluded to one era of time; they have been questioned many different times, in many different ways. In modern times, people are always protesting something and in the colonial times it was the same. People wanted their voice to be heard and as long as it is done in a peaceful manner it is legal now, but it resulted in punishment for the colonists. People have never wondered whether or not these rights should exist, the questions involve whether there should be limits or not. I believe that there should be limits on what you can and can’t say, just like there is a limit on what you can and can’t do.
Under the First Amendment, we as Americans have protected rights known as Freedom of Speech. How I see Freedom of Speech is it gives us the right to voice our own opinions without any retaliation or repercussions. An example in which Freedom of Speech may be utilized is before, during and after a Presidential Election. Many people will have their own opinions about how they see each Presidential Candidate fit or unfit. Alot of times after people exercise this right, Rallys and Protests occur. Unfortunetly sometimes when this does happen, boundaries are overstepped. This can result in threats, crimes, slander ad even people getting
The first amendment gives U.S. individuals five fundamental rights (also known as the freedom of expression):
Over the course of American history, many have taken the First Amendment right of freedom of speech and created wonderful things out of it. Alice Paul is an excellent example: she utilized her right to free speech and press to promote the equality of women and earned them the right to vote, in the midst of World War I. However, many take it the other way and create hate speeches where they tear down one particular group or individual or idea with their crude and blunt remarks. Yet, they are protected by the freedom of speech and the government cannot interfere with their actions, causing many to argue the First Amendment Right cannot be extended to anyone making hurtful remarks. Hate speeches need to be protected by the freedom of speech, as shown in legal documentation, moral issues, and the benefits it creates.
The First Amendment say’s “Congress can make no law not allowing freedom of speech to be used by the people”. Now I will give u some historical background. The First Amendment without a doubt was an action against the silence of free speech that existed in The English society. Until 1694, there was a complicated system of licensing in England, and no public was allowed without a government license. Blackstone, with his famous commentaries in law, said that “the liberty of the press say’s laying no previous restraints upon publications, and not in freedom from censure for criminal stuff when published... To subject the press to the power of a license . . . is to subject all of the freedom of sentiment to the power of one man, and make him the
While reading the chapter, The Law, I learned more about the amendments and what the ones mainly pertaining to criminal justice actually meant. The First, Fourth, Fifth,Sixth, Eighth, and Fourteenth Amendment all provide a foundation for our criminal justice system. There are also many particular protections in The Bill of Rights.
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
All the time, people are heard protesting about “Free Speech”, and “The First Amendment”. What rights are really protected under the First Amendment according to our Constitution? The answer may be shocking. In the United States of America, the concept of free speech is widely called upon to reinforce the legality of offensive spoken words or actions. In reality, not all speech is protected under the First Amendment. Sure, everyone is entitled to their own opinions, but where is the line between what opinions are acceptable to be spoken of in public, and what is inappropriate or too offensive. The true answer lies in the definition of the word public. While government run agencies such as public universities have little they can do about what students say, private colleges have virtually no requirements by law.
The bill of rights was created to give people the fundamentally important individual freedoms that no law could limit or take away. The quote from In Our Defense "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press" greater emphasis how vital it was to make freedom of speech the main priority for the people of this nation. However, many of the stuff the people express when using this right had caused many to feel offended because they have different beliefs and values. This has led to the creation of laws which have tried and defined such broad topics into a single definite definition. Free speech is one of the several liberties given by the bill of rights to every person living in the Unites States. Such right, however, is limited in colleges where students are sheltered and not exposed to topics that are currently reshaping society in new ways. Colleges and universities are the ideal places to challenge debatable topics to better prepare students to be tolerant of the opinion of others.