The Importance Of The Freedom Of Speech

Our first amendment to the United States Constitution reads; 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; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the

Under the First Amendment of the United States Constitution of December 1791, guaranteed the civil liberty of freedom of speech. It outlined that congress is not allowed to make any laws that may bridge a citizen’s freedom of speech, religion, press, and the right to assemble. This style of liberty gives all Americans the opportunity to express their thoughts openly without being shut down by the government. For example, there have been a great deal of protest the current president. Although, he is the president and should be respected Americans still have the right to display their opinions

The First Amendment of the United States Constitution gives the American people the right to Freedom of Speech, as stated in the Constitution: “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; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.” What is Freedom of Speech? It is the right to both verbal and non-verbal communication of thoughts and ideas. The people of America have the right to Freedom of Thought and Freedom of Expression.

In the first amendment it states, "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion of prohibiting the free exercise there of; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances." The first amendment of the United States Constitution promises the right to freedom of religion and the freedom of expression from the government. Freedom of expression is made up of the rights to freedom of speech, press, assembly and to petition the government. The most common right of freedom of expression is the right of freedom of speech.

Each and every citizen of the United States is automatically granted civil rights and civil liberties. With that being said, every individual is given equal protection under the law and their rights are protected by the Bill of Rights. The First Amendment, one of the major amendments in the Constitution, greatly affects the public in a way that each person is able to express themselves in a certain way. It states, “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; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.” (U.S. Constitution). Americans did not use the First Amendment to their advantage as much in the past as they do so now in the present. While freedom of expression isn’t always embraced among Americans, it still remains as one of the most valued rights of United States citizens.

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.

It was only natural for the framers to create safeguards in the new system of government to protect future generations of Americans from the same tyranny they fought so hard against. The Bill of Rights is, to this day, one of the greatest shields established by the founding fathers against tyranny since “became part of the U.S. Constitution on December 15, 1791” (Rohde). Freedom of speech is arguably the most important civil liberty because it protects all the other civil liberties by providing an unbiased outlet for news, giving a voice to the masses, and creating the opportunity for change. Before the Revolutionary War, the freedom of speech was a foreign concept and did not exist safely

“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; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for the redress of grievances.” (U.S. Constitution)

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.

As citizens of the United States of America we as human beings have certain unalienable rights listed in The Declaration of Independence, among those are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. And among our many liberties one of them listed in our constitution in the 1st amendment is the right to freedom of speech. However, like many liberties, freedom of speech is not absolute under the supreme law of land. What this means is that yes we do have freedom of speech, but it is not protected by the government if it includes obscenity, defamation, fraud, incitement, true threats and speech integral to already criminal conduct. White, K. (2017, June 08) Speech is an important part of our democracy, it gives us the right to speak freely

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.

Freedom of speech is defined as “the political right to communicate one's opinions and ideas. The term freedom of expression is sometimes used synonymously, but includes any act of seeking, receiving and imparting information or ideas, regardless of the medium used.”. It is a constitutional right under the first amendment. However, does freedom of speech really mean freedom of speech, or is it limited? Freedom of speech is the ability to speak without censorship or limitation. Also called freedom of expression, it refers not only to verbal speech but any act of communicating information or ideas, including publications, broadcasting, art, advertising, film, and the Internet.

The speech I selected is called “Why Freedom of Speech is Necessary”, and it was given by University of Toronto professor Jordan B. Peterson. Professor Peterson gave this speech on May 13th, 2017, at the University of Western Ontario in London, Ontario. Professor Peterson was called upon to give this speech to explain the incredible value of freedom of speech, and why it is critical to any society, and especially to the individuals within said society. The professor’s speech took place during the Annual General Meeting of the Society for Academic Freedom and Scholarship, with his event titled “Why Freedom of Speech is Not Just Another Value”. The SAFS was formed in 1992, in Canada, with the goals of “maintaining freedom in teaching, research, and scholarship”, and “maintaining standards of excellence in academic decisions about students and faculty” (safs.ca.about.html). The SAFS holds meetings yearly, to discuss popular topics in a purely informative manner, while not associating with any political ideology/ party. Jordan Peterson’s event was the Keynote Address of the one-day conference, and he was the third and final speaker of the day. Before his speech was a buffet lunch, and following his speech was an Annual Business Meeting for SAFS members only. Peterson’s speech was important as it was the longest out of the three, by a half hour. The audience of Professor Peterson’s speech consisted mainly of middle to older-aged people, ranging in diversity, but middle-aged to

Imagine that a group of students are interested in the same things but the school will not allow them get together and talk about their interests. This makes students and parents furious and they disagree with the school. School clubs should not be monitored because it violates the the First Amendment, it demonstrates valuable skills,and it enables children to develop character.

Although it is often described as a natural right, freedom of speech in America is constantly subject to limitations that systematically deprive citizens of this liberty. In the context of religion, the right to free speech becomes especially contentious and conditional. There is no more obvious evidence of this in modern society than in the treatment of Muslim Americans and refugees. While other religions in America are granted the privilege of being able to practice their religion and their speech with far less restrictions, due to lack of education about Islam and a cult of paranoia that grows within society Muslims in America are being denied their right to free speech. Evidence of this trend can be seen in the cases of Hassan v City of New York, Raza v City of New York, as well as the cases of Hamid Hayat and his father Umar. In each case the religious identification of Muslim participants led to the denial of freedom of speech and exercise of religion. Violence is not inherent in Islam and is not responsible for how Muslims are treated in the US. Rather, the Muslim disadvantage is a consequence of misinterpretations of the religion and a culture of fear that intensified following the events of 9/11. Since most Americans and court officials lack essential knowledge and understanding of Islam, it is easier to indict a Muslim on charges of conspiracy and terrorism based off phrases and practices that an American court does not understand. Even worse, fear has led to