Freedom of Speech Final Paper
Within the United States, we have
the Amendments in the Bill of Rights for each
individual
in the United States. From first amendment Freedom of Religion, Speech, and the
Press,
to the last amendment Undelegated Power kept by the States and the People is
within the
US
Constitution. I’ll be talking about the Freedom of Speech the first amendment.
Not only how
important
it is but how it is endangered by individuals that are abusing it and censoring
others
views
in violence. What is the definition of freedom of speech? The right which is
guaranteed in
the
first Amendment in the U.S. Constitution to express belief and ideas without
unwarranted by
government
restriction.
All over the United States alone
there has been controversies between free speech & hate
speech.
Hate speech has become such a huge discussion as of lately. What is the definition
of
Hate
Speech? A speech in which is expressed hatred towards a particular group of
people.(“Merriam-Webster
dictionary”) Is Hate speech protected under freedom of speech? No
it
is not protected by freedom of speech. Within an article in the New York Times
explains a talk
with
Natalie Shutler over a book by Howard Gullman. (“Free Speech-Hate Speech
Trade-Off
The
New York Times”.) Here’s another example: The huge NFL (National Football
League) talk
is
the not saluting the flag. It not protected by free speech. Thanks to the court
case of West
Virginia
Board of Education vs Barnette.
Then we have those that wish disavow
anyone’s freedom of speech. Those that have been
doing this, is individuals in groups
such as Antifa, BLM (Black Lives Matter). It’s not the whole
group but just a selected few that
would go out of their way to try to prove with violence and
saying it is supported by free
speech in the long run it’s not. Look at what happened within the
University of California Berkeley.
Individuals like Ben Shapiro, and Milo Yiannopoulos have
been attacked cause the shutdown
free speech week. During “Free Speech Week” a group of
students were planning it at the
University but the mayor canceled it before it took place. (“The
Washington post article UC-Berkeley
Free Speech Week canceled.”) Large amounts of damage
were the result of the protest.
Again
it’s not the whole group it’s only a small group of individuals that would go
out of
their way to censor someone else’s
objective ideas and views. We have the same thing in the art
world. We have both Norman Rockwell
and Shepard Fairey. Both have done heavy political art
pieces. Here’s a little back story
on both of these artist. Norman Rockwell was born in New York
and was talented at a young age. He
received his first commission at the age of 17. All of his
because it was grounded of the world
around him.
Then
we have the latest topic of free speech. Theirs the whole NFL (National
Football League) protest. It’s where
professional players did not stand for the national anthem. As employees to a
company professional athletes don’t have the first amendment right to protest
at games. The first amendment applies to a matter of law only government action
takes place. It’s up to the Teams owners to take action against the players.
Free speech isn’t just a legal guarantee it’s civil right. We don’t really
care if our speech, or the speech of someone we want to listen to, is
suppressed by the government as opposed to private action. What we care about
is getting to speak and listen. That’s what the players have done in the NFL.
They may not be protected by the first amendment, but its matter of free speech
in general. NFL owners don’t have to respect the players protest but they know
that many individuals that sees it would be upset if the protest was
suppressed.
Links:
- NFL and Free-speech protesters have lost sight of what they’re protesting
- “Hate Speech.” Merriam-Webster, Merriam-Webster,
- “The Free Speech-Hate Speech Trade-Off.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 13 Sept. 2017,
- “What Does Free Speech Mean?” United States Courts,
- Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8YH3e_ZcIC0&t=4s
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