The Importance Of Freedom Of Speech In The United States

On Decemeber 15, 1791, the First Amendment was passed along with 9 other amendements in the "Bill of Rights." The purpose of these amendments were to address the concerns of the Anti-Federalists that the "U.S. Constitution" did not protect the citizens from the government infringing on their rights. The Freedom of Speech is defined as the right to express any opinions without censorship or restraint and has been at the center of many heated cases in the United States and across the world.

Twana A. Hassan states “All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights…The core notion of the principle is that humans are free to do, say, have, and to be whatever they want if there is no law explicitly prohibiting it” (488). People have a right to express their opinion, feeling, and wishes. This human right is protected by First Amendment. America is a free nation that means Americans are born with many freedoms. Freedom of speech is one of the most wonderful freedom that people are enjoying. To have this freedom, people had fight for it in the past; it has been through many different phases; and now it is different from ever before and will continue to change in the future. Freedom

Even though the United States has the first amendment, the right of freedom of speech, there is a limit to that right in which the Government then can step in. The Government has to have a motive to need to step in and block or not share certain information. One extent is if the information contains context that puts the Nation's National Security in jeopardy. The Government has not been telling us more about the war that we have been in, and has also given us false information to keep us thinking that we know what is happening in places like Iraq.

As Americans we are all very lucky to have the right to freedom of speech. It is a powerful tool that helps our society develop and evolves into what it is today. It’s a way for us to share information and ideas, express our mind and even communicate with the government. Freedom of speech is something so important that we practice everyday. However freedom of speech is something that is also very easily abused. We tend to just speak our minds all the time when sometimes we are not even sure what we are talking about. We think that we can say whatever we would like to and its okay because we have the right to free speech right? That is where we are wrong. Free speech isn’t always free, and is actually restricted in many areas.

The freedom of speech is important for the people in the United States and it’s important around the world. Freedom of speech is the right to communicate one's opinions and ideas without the fear of the government retaliation or censorship. The Freedom of Speech is protected by the First Amendment in the United States of America. The Freedom of Speech is the ability to freely speak your mind

Free speech in my mind, should be universally protected, except when that speech turns into hate against any particular minority and incites violence that is not needed for the safety of the public at large. Freedom of speech serves to be a fundamental democratic right that affords every citizen to participate in the United States constitutional democracy. It is a vital tool because it can be used by every person, rich, poor, black or white, to voice their concerns and rejections of the federal or state government in hopes to bring about change. Change comes in many forms, from allowing women to vote, to providing African Americans the equal status to their white counterparts. In addition, the 1st amendment allows for the free exchange of

Freedom of speech is protected by the First Amendment that comprises what we refer to as freedom of expression. Freedom of speech is the foundation of an American democracy and without freedom of speech Americans would not have the right to vote. Freedom of speech means that an individual can debate or have an opinion with issues going on in America. Although freedom of speech in America gives Americans the right to have their voices heard and to have an opinion in American politics, it is still very limited. There is an abundant amount of Americans that are not able to exercise their first amendment right because of protesters who rally at speeches to stop an individual from exercising their right. There are constant issues over who has the right to do what, and who has the right to say what is right. The American government clearly believes that some people should have rights, but others, such as immigrants or students on campuses do not deserve to. Two articles that were featured in USATODAY, one article that was written by Shanta Driver, “Freedom of Speech Is a Diversion: Opposing View”, is addressing the right of illegal immigrants in America. The second article, “Campus Mobs Muzzle Free Speech: Our View”, written by The Editorial Board, argues the respect of freedom of speech on college campuses. Both articles appeal to the audience’s logic or logos appeal by stating their opinions on why freedom of speech is America’s greatest threat.

I have waited for about 4 months for this time of year, Football season. Football is back but not without its debate over players standing for the pregame national anthem to the grievance the ethnic inequalities in America. Even though my appreciation for this country with its faults. America’s favorite past time sports football shouldn’t be a platform to promote the injustice of African Americans. I selected this topic for I believe in the first amendment, Freedom of speech. In the First Amendment to the United States Constitution prevents Congress from making any law respecting an establishment of religion, prohibiting the free exercise of religion, or abridging the freedom of speech, the freedom of the press, the right to peaceably assemble, or to petition for a governmental redress of grievances. (constitutioncenter.org, 2017)

Who are the guardians of free speech? Is it our elected members of parliament in Ottawa? Is

Within today’s society, the freedom of speech has become an extremely controversial topic. There are various opinions on freedom of speech, however, philosopher John Stuart Mill argued that “[i]f all mankind minus one were of one opinion, mankind would be no more justified in silencing that one person that he, if he had the power, would be justified in silencing mankind” (1859, p. 14). Mill sides with freedom of speech being vital for all of humanity. Having the ability to speak one’s thoughts and opinions is crucial not only for the individual, but for society as a whole. The right to speak one’s mind openly and freely about certain topics without the fear of high authoritative figures suppressing those opinions, while keeping in mind not to harm others is what freedom of speech is truly about. Freedom of speech is a basic human right to every individual, although the way you present and utilize your opinions on a specific topic has to be within limits; meaning if it harms individuals and/or society, the law can then intervene.

The United States and Europe have seen a growing number of people and groups advocating hateful and discriminatory beliefs in recent years. How liberal democracies should or should not address this fact has been a source of contention between people who advocate for freedom of speech and expression above all, and those who advocate for free and equal citizenship to come first. Corey Brettschneider tries to tackle this issue of hate speech and the state’s role, or lack thereof, in limiting this type of expression by contending that the state ought to publically reproach hateful viewpoints without limiting their expression. He points to the United States and Europe as examples of two sides of tackling the issue. The United States he compares to the “Hateful Society dystopia,” in which free speech is help so highly that hateful viewpoints are not addressed at all. Europe he compares to the “Invasive State dystopia,” in which hateful viewpoints are limited to the point of infringing of the very rights the state is claiming to protect. He advocates instead for the use of the state’s expressive capabilities as speaker, educator, and spender to encourage values central to liberal democracy – free and equal citizenship – to allow the state to both respect the right to free speech and expression and still counter hateful or discriminatory beliefs. Brettschneider differentiates between expressive and coercive state action, recognizing that coercive action would limit freedom of

In the United States of America, U.S citizens are rightfully given inalienable rights, which it cannot be taken away. These inalienable rights grant U.S citizens the right of free speech, freely worship a religion, and to live a life with the Pursuit of Happiness. However, across the nation, there are numerous cases in which school administrators violate students’ right to free speech. School officials are not utilizing their jurisdiction responsibly, and they are not following the First Amendment rights, due to unreasonably given punishments.

In the United States, the 1st amendment in the Constitution was created to protect the citizen’s rights to speak, practice religion, assemble, petition, and publish freely without government interference.However, throughout the years the freedom of speech since it was inputted into the constitution in the Bill of Right in intention to control over the concern of too much governmental control. Through the years in additional amendment was added, the fourteenth amendment. Which extends limitation to state government on law which may prohibit or abridge the people’s right to assemble peacefully. As a result causing an effect toward the 1st amendment that gave the right freely and contradict it actual liberty. With the Supreme court to take a stance on what now is freedom of speech is under court.

Since childhood, I have been raised to believe that college is a space for freethinkers, a place where two people with different opinions can civilly debate on topics to learn more about each other's sides. Even to this day, I hold the idea that college is meant to be the hub for free speech, sadly not everyone agrees. In colleges across the nation, students are feeling frightened to share their opinions if it doesn't fit the social norm. If the United States is a country that deeply values its right to free speech, then why are students afraid to say what they think? One reason might be the threat of violence from groups like Antifa, a social anarchist group that uses mace and bike locks to assault people at protests and counter-protests for public speakers. These attacks don't just occur at random events for just any speakers, they are aimed at conservative speakers and their followers. These attacks and protests are part of a plan to silence a public speaker from spreading their message. Any protest that is set up with the goal of silencing any person is not just an attack on the speaker but is also an attack on the First Amendment. College students should not block public speakers from speaking on campuses because they are constitutionally protected to do so, it is important for students to hear different views than what they agree with, and history has shown that some of the most life-changing movements were seen as using inflammatory speech and were also blocked.

What exactly entails of freedom of speech? It is the right to communicate fully your ideas and opinions without having to be afraid of how the government will retaliate or censor your words or sanction by the society at large. To have your own ideas put across rightly is a precious thing owing to the rights of humans. Freedom of speech is a right given to all Americans through the bill of rights, freedom from speech is not.