Freedom of Speech Essay - 2651 Words

Freedom of Speech Freedom of speech is something that, traditionally, has been unique to the United States. In fact, it was one of the founding principles of our country. It was the group of repressed colonists that decided that they would no longer accept the fact that they were not allowed to speak out against the throne. They decided that they would not accept not being able to denounce the Church of England. And on July 4, 1776, what could be seen as one of the boldest forms of speech ever ensured that never again would Americans be subject to the harsh regulation of Great Britain. Then, in 1789, our nations forefathers made it official with the ratification of the U.S. Constitution, including the first of ten amendments:†¦show more content†¦Is it ethical for the United States to even request that the rest of the world join our standard? Finally, is it ethical for the United States to do its own thing, regardless of others? Each of these concerns will be examined and the answer to all of them is no, it is not ethical - but what other choice is there? In the United States, as mentioned above, Americans enjoy a unique freedom - the freedom to express themselves as they wish. But freedom does not come without limits. The first amendment does not protect speech that is obscene and/or profane. But exactly what is obscene? What is profane? It honestly depends on who you ask. Even when brought before the United States Supreme Court, Justices could not define it. Justice Potter Steward couldnt do it either, but said I know it when I see it. As Winchel Todd Vincent III reflects in his paper Freedom of Speech in Cyberspace: Are you a criminal?, obscenity and profanity are determined by community standards. For the most part, people can agree what is good and what is bad. Vincent writes, The test for obscenity is whether to the average person, applying contemporary community standards, the dominant theme of the material taken as a whole appeals to prurient interests. Prurient is defined by Websters as marked by or arousing an immoderate or unwholesome interest or desire, especially a sexual desire.2 In other countries, standards are not as free asShow 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