Essay on Freedom of Speech - 1272 Words

Our forefathers worked to ensure we could enjoy civil liberties that they were unable to under British rule. In the First Amendments one of the liberties detailed is freedom of speech, specifically in that Congress will not enact a law that is â€Å"abridging the freedom of speech.† In 1925 the Supreme Court ruled that the First Amendment applies to each state ensuring that the constitutional right to free speech is protected from interference by the government. Freedom of speech can only be upheld so long as the content of which does not violate the law. In 2002 a high school senior, Joseph Frederick, revealed a banner for the Olympic Torch Relay while it was in town on its journey to the winter games. The banner read â€Å"Bong Hits 4†¦show more content†¦It was because the banners pro-drug message contradicts the school districts own drug policy. Its easier to agree with censorship when its to hinder a message encouraging illegal behavior, but what about legal beh aviors? Religion in school has been a legal issue since 1948 in the McCollum v. Board of Education case in which a nonreligious student was punished and singled out during a religious instruction. Why does the First Amendment state â€Å"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof† and yet student-led prayers at school functions are banned by court order in the Santa Fe Independent School District? Annie Laurie Gaylor wrote, â€Å"It is dishonest to call any prayer voluntary that is encouraged or required by a public official or legislature. By definition, if the government suggests that students pray, whether by penning the prayer, asking them to vote whether to pray, or setting aside time to pray, it is endorsing and promoting that prayer† (Gaylor 680). A government that endorses the religious activities of one religion over another aids in the segregation of the student body and opens the door to discr imination, much like in 1948. Freedom of speech isnt exactly perfect. If allowing prayer in school leads to discrimination, then what does vulgar language lead to if our media is saturated with it? InShow MoreRelatedSpeech : Freedom Of Speech1364 Words   |  6 Pages Even though freedom of speech can be tricky, 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. AreRead MoreSpeech On Freedom Of Speech1484 Words   |  6 Pages Abby Koopmann Ethics Freedom of Speech Professor Hunt Culver Stockton College Freedom of Speech Americans have many freedoms that people in other countries can only wish they had. Just imagine a life where you could possibly be killed for speaking your mind and stating your opinion, other countries are living lives like that. According to Katy Davis, The United States ratified the first amendment on December 15th 1791 (Davis, n.d). We as a country don’t know where the governmentRead MoreFreedom Of Speech : Speech1105 Words   |  5 Pages Freedom of Speech Freedom of Speech, part of the First Amendment, is a privileged right that should not be taken lightly. The Milo Bill is said to protect students’ right to their freedom of speech on school grounds. It was introduced at Tennessee’s State House and is named after Milo Yiannopoulos, a British public speaker who made a career out of â€Å"trolling† liberals and gained publicity for uncalled-for acts, such as racist and harassing comments on Twitter, which got him banned from the socialRead MoreSpeech : The Freedom Of Speech Essay1624 Words   |  7 PagesCitizens 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 pr ohibited--and indecent or pornographic speech--which has been regulated (Barrett, 1999). PublicRead MoreSpeech On Freedom Of Speech3937 Words   |  16 PagesZhiyuan Li Philosophy 2367 Freedom of Speech A couple of months ago, University of Chicago’s president Robert J. Zimmerin expressed his concern about freedom of speech on campus in a Wall Street Journal article: Free speech is at risk at the very institution where it should be assured: the university †¦ Invited speakers are disinvited because a segment of a university community deems them offensive, while other orators are shouted down for similar reasons. Demands are made to eliminate readings thatRead MoreFree Speech : Freedom Of Speech1403 Words   |  6 PagesFREE SPEECH Freedom of speech is perhaps the most precious tenets of liberal democracies accorded to the citizens of the free world. The United States, and the rest of the Western society is known to be the cradle of democratic principles, and this can be evidenced by the level of freedom accorded to the citizens of the United States and the West in terms of speech. The freedom of speech gives an individual an opportunity to speak his or her mind and also give his or her opinion, sometimes on veryRead MoreFreedom Of The Media And Freedom Of Speech1540 Words   |  7 Pageswhen Socrates was forced to drink poison for his â€Å"corruption of youth† (Mette), which can be seen as silencing one man for the betterment of everyone, but there is always an ample amount of opinions on such a controversial topic as Freedom of the press, or Freedom of Speech. Many nations today believe that very strict and regulated system of governing the media and entertainment is the best answer, such as China, w here â€Å"censorship was considered a legitimate instrument for regulating the moral and politicalRead MoreFree Speech Or Freedom Of Speech Essay911 Words   |  4 PagesIntroduction America is known as The Land of Freedom, basically we are entitled for legal freedom to do whatever we wanted to. However, the freedom of speech has been challenged by many university students and educators recently. In their argument, they believe that free speech has triggered students’ unhappiness and jeopardize campus’ safety. What is the free speech or freedom of speech? According to dictionary, freedom of speech is the right of people to express their opinions publicly withoutRead MoreFreedom of Speech3842 Words   |  16 PagesFreedom of speech Freedom of speech  is the freedom to speak freely without  censorship. The synonymous term  freedom of expression  is sometimes used to indicate not only freedom of verbal speech but any act of seeking, receiving and imparting information or ideas, regardless of the medium used. In practice, the right to freedom of speech is not absolute in any country and the right is commonly subject to limitations, such as on hate speech. The right to freedom of speech is recognized as a  humanRead MoreFreedom Of Speech : Speech And Expression898 Words   |  4 PagesWhen the words, â€Å"freedom of speech† are uttered today, it brings about much conflict and tension. The vagueness of the First Amendment is a pretty good indication of how different times were back when the Constitution and everything along with it were created. Back then, all the Founding Fathers wanted was the establish a democracy using the lessons they had learned from the tyranny of the British King. They wanted more freedom and power to the people. In the modern era, everything has changed, and