In an ever changing society, it is common to see new policies and laws popping up left and right, but unbeknownst to many, there is an agenda being pushed by those in power to sway the American people through new practices. As a result, the freedoms granted to every American are threatened in an attempt to control the population. Control is the power to influence other people’s thinking and the power to pacify those who voice opposition. In America, the First Amendment, which protects freedom of speech and the press, is currently being targeted and undermined through recent laws and societal practices in an attempt to control the population. It is important for the people to recognize and stand against this, or else, we all risk losing our …show more content…
This man is perhaps the most politically incorrect candidate to ever run for the President of the United States. He is notorious for being outspoken on immigration, yet what happens when he and his supporters exercise their freedom of speech? They get called, by Hillary Clinton, a, ‘basket of deplorables. . . Racist, sexist, homophobic, xenophobic, Islamaphobic, you name it’ (Ferlaino). The most frightening part about it all is that many people agree with what Clinton said and label just about everyone associated with Trump as such. Freedom of speech is threatened by political correctness. Donald Trump is a prime example of defying political correctness; he speaks his mind and stands up for his beliefs. However, the ramifications are enormous. Labels like, “racist”, “sexist”, and “xenophobic” are unjustly tossed around, and many Americans have been discriminated against because of these labels. Attacks on Trump supporters have ranged from David Wilcox, a white man from Chicago, being punched and kicked for voting Trump to a high school student, in Maryland, getting beaten by his classmates for wearing a Trump hat (Caruso). It is true that the First Amendment allows people to exercise free speech as long as …show more content…
In the recent presidential election, fake news has been widely circulated, and now, there is a dangerous movement to counter it. However, fake news must first be acknowledged as a serious problem. On December 4, 2016, Edgar Welch carried an assault rifle into Comet Ping Pong, a pizzeria in Washington, DC, and fired a shot under the premise of liberating child sex slaves held captive by Hillary Clinton there. The entire conspiracy, dubbed as “pizzagate”, was perpetrated through social media and fake news outlets in an attempt to discredit Secretary Clinton (Siddiqui and Svrluga). This single event shows how dangerous fake news has become and how it has affected the lives of everyday Americans. Here is a man from North Carolina that has been influenced by fake news circulating the internet, and as a result, he endangers the lives of others and his own in hopes of proving a false rumor true. However, the most worrying part about fake news is how the government is about to limit freedom of the press under the guise of countering fake news. On December 23, 2016, President Obama signed the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2017. However, hidden within the NDAA was a different act titled, “Countering Information Warfare Act of 2016 (S. 2692).” This act provides funding for the US Government to counter
Imagine living in a country where you could be imprisoned for speaking against the common viewpoint; where holding a specific set of opinions could ruin your life and land you locked up in a tiny cell at the mercy of your superiors. It sounds like it came straight from a dystopian novel, but this is a reality for many people in this world. In countries like China, a person’s freedom of expression is severely limited. If you speak out against the government or actively voice certain viewpoints, you could be imprisoned (Freedom). In other places, such as the United States, people enjoy a much more open society when it comes to freedom of expression. But even in the U.S., some people believe the answer to our problems lies in banning certain types
As an American citizen and a late bloomer to the political arena in the United States, I find myself arriving in an disheartening and frightening environment. Where I have suddenly awoken in a dis-utopian world of money, power and greed, where the rich elites of the population has all the power to speak up. Where money has become more out-spoken and heard than actual dialog, while the majority of the population remains silenced through underfunded attempts to express their views. Giving money the potency of free speech enables only the people with a financial mouth to resonate loud enough to be heard. Presidents, Senators, Legislators and House of Representative members are involved in the process of making policies and laws, who are
Like most democratic nations in the world, the United States has had its own fair share of issues with hate speech. There has been a lot of controversy over whether hate speech should be regulated. In analyzing the concept of free speech, one cannot ignore that it does not occur in a vacuum. There have been all types of debasements ranging from ethnic, religious, racial and gendered stereotyping. Freedom of speech inherently includes all other fundamental human rights. Hence, as acknowledged through natural rights, other rights and personhood should adamantly be included within this scope of this protection. Hate speech is a limit on free speech, as it not only puts the victim under deliberate psychological and physical harm, but also
To the eyes of many Americans, kneeling while the anthem is being played and the flag is being shown is disrespectful. Blood and sweat has been sacrificed for our flag and for us that live in this beautiful country. These same soldiers fought for a place where we can walk safely, we can speak without fear, and for our Constitution.
“People all over the world should be able to expect freedom of worship, freedom of speech, freedom from fear, and freedom from want.” This, a prompt derived from Franklin D. Roosevelt’s Four Freedoms Speech of 1941, makes you nod your head in agreement at first, but there a few loop holes that catch the eye upon further investigation. The world would have to think as one, be as one, and have the same goals for this idealistic statement to be true. With these considerations in mind and slight adjustments, this statement could be an actual goal that we as a world, and nation, should strive for together.
In modern day America, the topic of freedom of speech is widely disputed. More specifically in regards to when you are protected by our first amendment. It is extremely important to know what this right entitles as a way to protect yourself, as well as to keep yourself from looking like an idiot. For example, being banned from a social media site, such as Twitter, does not violate the constitution.¹ This is because Twitter is a private organization. This is also why you can be fired from your job if you say something incriminating on the internet.¹ The first amendment does not apply to private organizations. As well as this, you cannot be fined or punished for something such as not standing for the pledge. This is because it “is an act of political
More than 200 college and professional football players kneeled down during the playing of the national anthem. President Donald Trump called on the NFL owners to fire the kneeling football players for disrespecting the national anthem. Moreover, the high school football coach in Texas forced two football players in his team strip down to their underwear before the football game in front of the fans because the football players kneeled down during the playing of the national anthem. Yet when it comes to poll taking about what people think about the protesting of the social injustices during football games hardly anybody wants to express their honest opinions about these social problems in America.
Simply put, free speech and its integral role in free society is fading, or rather: free society itself is fading. In our homes, we sit in our leather recliners with a can of forget and a bowl of regret, our mouths wide open, our eyes peeled watching our American gods of knowledge and opinion as they place their words into our mouths, into our hearts, and into our brains. And by our gods, we learn of our true identity - our box that our features and characteristics place us in, what we should really be thinking about, and which side of the political "fiesta" that we should be falling for. Likewise, the young adults in American Colleges are being taught standards of socio-ethical appeasement and continuing these “skills” from college into their daily lives: the fabric of American Society, which is a primary factor in the end of the First Amendment right of the American public. The American population is not only controlled (socio-politically) by the desires and politicization in the industries of advertisement and entertainment but also the “corrupted” situation of the American college, which are both extending the dissolution of free speech in the United States.
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
I would like to begin with question in this reflective essay. What does America mean to you? While For me personally, America mean Freedom to be creative, rights, higher education, and priorities of job. In another I view America as a fourth of July and well developed country. Also, it’s the land of the opportunity and melting pot country where anyone can come. Americans have more freedom than most other countries around the world. We have many greats thing such as the freedom of speech, freedom to vote, justice, law, and we have opportunity to speak what is in our mind. But Somehow, I value America as a two effective ways which includes many positives and few negative things.
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
Freedom of speech is the most paramount aspect of establishing a functioning government. The right to express any opinions without censorship or restraint, or freedom of speech, has its origins dating back to the creation of the United States. Although the Articles of Confederation, the first form of government America instituted, did not acknowledge free speech, the new form of government that came subsequent, the Constitution, stressed the importance of freedom of expression. Consequently, a prosperous, and working society was forged out of the desires of the founding fathers to add free speech in America. Nonetheless, similar to most freedoms, there are limitations to the right of free speech. Because the United States grants freedom of
All of the famous people and presidents give speeches to anyone on their state and give them freedom. All of lot of people wants to be freedom and they want someone give them a speech about them and themselves. When everyone wants to know what’s the freedom of speech you will ask anyone that talks about history in the past. The freedom of speech is the only way to let the people to know about history what is freedom to the past and try harder. Just when people give you the speech doesn’t means freedom, it means not to give up with your dreams. There is a lot of people that gives the freedom of speeches include presidents and your friends and family that believes of freedom. There is some people that go to jail and the`re innocent, they want
Freedom of Speech was developed during the beginning stages of reformation of the United State of America in association of the first 10 amendments of the birth of the U.S. Constitution. Coming from a world of history of war to prove what is considered rights, the new settles of the United States begged to preach their beliefs for liberty and no concern. The new country was at a demand for basic human freedoms and the Bill of Rights were formed. The U.S. Constitution was signed September 17, 1787, but initially did not contain the essential freedoms from the Bill of Rights. After much deliberation, the Bill of Rights were established and developed in less than forty-five words from James Madison, which became the First Amendment. The Bill of Rights went into effect on December 15, 1791. [2]
Freedom of speech had a link of positive impacts to the world. One positive impact would be the citizens questioning the government about their personal interests and opinion on free speech. This means that before freedom of speech was questioned, many citizens did not have a voice. The government was not concerned with increasing individual’s voices based on personal opinions and beliefs. When citizens began to question the government, the government had not one motive behind not giving individuals the opportunity to speak freely. This arouse more questioning and thoughts amongst citizens and government officials. The United States implemented the first amendment which is applied to all state and local governments. No one is restricted or