Do we still have freedom of speech? in
America
Tuesday March 31 at 5:00pm PST, the call-in and express our
First Amendment (347) 826-7353
“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of
religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of
speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and
to petition the government for a redress of grievances.”
These 45 words make up the complete First Amendment to the
U.S. Constitution. For many of us, they are the most important
words ever strung into a complex sentence, because they’re the foundation for
the unique American way of life.
Only individually can we and do we, choose not to hate, or
not to be ignorant, or not to be racist, no law or legislation can do that, or
choose that, for us. It is too great an infringement on our Liberty, to have to
be selective of every word that we choose, just so we do not offend anyone.
People do not have to listen to people they find offensive, or read what people
have written if they find it offensive, or watch entertainment they find
offensive, or look at art they find offensive. They have the power and the
right to censor for themselves, but not others or society. We need to get back
to the place where we once were in this Country. When people were willing to
fight and die to give liberty and freedom to everyone, and not just the people
they agreed with.
Freedom of Speech is valued by most people as a God given
right that are so important, it must be guaranteed by the government. Americans
after the Revolutionary War decided they did not want the government
restricting their speech. In general, at the time of the writing of the
Constitution, the concern about protecting free speech was in regard to
protecting political speech.
They wanted to be able to express their opinions about
political candidates and laws they might pass. If the government was allowed to
censor viewpoints it didn't like, the people would end up with a government
that favored certain people who had political power and oppressed everyone else
who did not agree.
What is the rationale underlying the right to “free
speech?” Thomas Jefferson and other
Founders believed that minimizing the limits on what people were free to say
was essential for a “liberal democracy” to thrive. The “marketplace of ideas” belief holds that
the truth and good public policy arise from the competition of widely varying
ideas freely shared in public discourse.
The Founders also thought that open exchanges of ideas would encourage
tolerance among people with opposing views
What does the right of free expression encompass? The government may not: a) prohibit one’s own
expression; b) prevent one from receiving another’s expression; c) compel one
to express certain views; d) foster adherence to an ideological viewpoint; or,
e) compel one to subsidize speech to which one objects. It is the right to
express one’s beliefs, without any form of governmental interference that is at
the heart of “free speech.”
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