Freedom Of Speech The Power Of Freedom Of Speech

Freedom of speech would be easy if words did not have power. Guaranteeing people, the right to say and print whatever they wanted would be easy if we could believe that words had no real effect. But unfortunately, Americans tend to believe that words do have power and that they can anger and inspire, cause people to rise up and act out in harmful ways. Americans celebrate speakers like James Otis, Abraham Lincoln, and Martin Luther King, Jr., whose words inspired people to fight for independence, advance the American experiment in republican government, and dream of a more just society. These people’s words have changed the lives and influences of millions of people today. Freedom of speech would be easy if all people could be†¦show more content†¦Everyday people decide to use words in a hateful way or to bully others. Humans are fallible, which means that they can make bad choices. And the right of speech is not absolute, which means that the boundaries of protected speech have to be constantly assessed. All of these facts complicate Americas commitment to free speech, but they also make this commitment courageous. In addition, they leave the legal system with a difficult challenge. On the one hand, the courts are entrusted with protecting this right to free expression, which is so central to our national experience. On the other hand, they are charged with identifying the often blurry edges of this freedom. The following case study is a spot-on example of the difficulty of the First Amendment in the United States. The case began, as many do, with an act of Congress. Shortly after the United States entered into World War I, Congress passed the Espionage Act of 1917. It was passed with the goals of prohibiting interference with military operations or recruitment, preventing insubordination in the military, and preventing the support of hostile enemies during wartime. At the time, Charles Schenck was an important Philadelphia socialist. He was t he general secretary of the Socialist Party of America, and was opposed to the United States’ entry into the war. As part of his efforts to counter the war effort, Schenck organized the distribution of 15,000 leaflets to prospectiveShow MoreRelatedFreedom Of Speech : Positive And Negative Impact On The World1251 Words   |  6 PagesFreedom 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 individualsRead 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 MoreThe Issue Of Freedom Of Speech1139 Words   |  5 PagesThe Hunted â€Å"Everyone is in favor of free speech. 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He also argues that speech must be absolute because the onlyRead MoreThe Amendment And Freedom Of Speech1545 Words   |  7 Pages The 1st amendment was made to guarantee freedoms in the field of expre ssion assembly, religion, and ones rights to petition. It prohibits congress men from promoting ones religious practices and also supporting ones faith over another. It also forbids the congress men from disturbing and obscuring the freedom of the press to express itself and also the freedom of speech per individual. It also assures the right of each civilian to petition the regime to redress accusations and gather peacefullyRead MoreNegative Effects Of Freedom Of Speech945 Words   |  4 PagesFreedom of speech has been expressed throughout the American culture since the Bill of Rights in 1789. 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The UniversalRead MoreFreedom Of Speech By George Orwell1487 Words   |  6 PagesBill of Rights of which the first amendment is the freedom of speech. This freedom of speech is the most essential part of American freedom. Without freedom of speech, the government would be able to control the flow of ideas and society itself would stagnate. Freedom of speech is the way in which ideas can progress and evolve. Even though some ideas do not hold any informational merit, they are still essential to the foundations of freedom of speech. A wrong idea will lead to the discovery of a newRead MoreFree Speech : The Benefits Of Freedom Of Speech805 Words   |  4 Pagesof time ever conjectured how the term freedom of speech is expressed? Freedom of speech is more than the ordinary everyday concept of the synchronization and harmony of speaking freely. In this response, we will strongly s crutinize origins and benefits regarding free speech, circumstances that may restrict free speech, free speech in Canada and determine protesters objection to Jordan Peterson. Without any hesitation, let us enact the importance of free speech concerning if campus debate should beRead 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, where â€Å"censorship was considered a legitimate instrument for regulating the moral and political