ipl-logo

The Pros And Cons Of Free Speech

821 Words4 Pages

Through the course of United States history, the First Amendment is known by every sort of citizen. Whether from the firebranded activists on different sides of every heated political issue that graced our nation, or taught by passionate academics wishing to instill the grand philosophy behind it to young students, the First Amendment is widely recognized and understood as a concept by our nation. Eloquently described by Justice Holmes in United States v. Schwimmer, proclaimed the nature of the First Amendment in his dissent: Not free thought for those who agree with us but freedom for the thought that we hate.” At its core, free speech is meant to be utilized by people of varying opinions. There are people, whether by nature or passion, who would use the safeguard of free speech in a way that is most detrimental not only society, but to the annals of scholars who longed observed its value. …show more content…

By no measure does the concept of free speech permit for unchecked practice because speech which engenders the breach of peace, births fear within a citizenry, or undermines the process of justice to be exacted will prevail over law and equity vested in this nation by our Constitution. The Stone Court dealt with this issue. In Chaplinsky v. New Hampshire, Justice Murphy established a two-tier theory. This theory categorized unprotected forms of speech to which “contributed to the expression of ideas or possessed any social value in the search for truth”. While Murphy’s opinion of Chaplinsky did not refer to “true threats”, his very words would be the precursors for cases to come regarding communicated threats. In Title 18 of United States Code § 875 (c) , the government is given its capacity to prosecute based on threatening content within

Show More
Related
547 Words | 3 Pages

The Free Speech Coalition claims that these prohibitions are overbroad and vague and,

Read More
1457 Words | 6 Pages

Congress’s power to limit freedom of speech in any way is not included in the enumerated powers listed in Article I, Section 8 of the Constitution (20-21). The states, if anyone, are the only governments that might posses the power to limit free speech (21). Government officials, however, obviously have no regard for the Constitution or freedom of speech and are acting upon their own desires and values (21). Many examples of freedom of speech infringement are given throughout this book, and the author shows how these kinds of laws are enacted throughout history.

Read More
103 Words | 1 Pages

People have the tendency to take the First Amendment for granted, but some tend to use it to their favor. Stanley Fish presents his main argument about how people misuse this amendment for all their conflicts involving from racial issues to current political affairs in his article, Free-Speech Follies. His article involves those who misinterpret the First Amendment as their own works or constantly use it as an excuse to express their attitudes and desires about a certain subject matter. He expresses his personal opinions against those who consistently use the First Amendment as a weapon to defend themselves from harm of criticism.

Read More
566 Words | 3 Pages

The first amendment states that “Congress cannot enact laws limiting ”the freedom of speech or press.”’ (Kentucky Resolutions) Again, in short, this amendment is saying that the federal government is not able to pass a law that takes away someone’s right to speak their opinion. Contrary to this amendment, the Federal government did exactly the opposite of what the amendment said was allowed. The acts, passed by John Adams, take away the human right of speaking what is on the mind and using what they say to show them off as a threat.

Read More
561 Words | 3 Pages

The first amendment protects our everyday life when it come to speaking, Writing, religion, signing a petition,or gathering together for a protest. Congress shall make no law respecting any of these topics. The scenario at hand explained how a group of students set the flag on fire and they all got arrested, the real question is however, are the police within their rights to do so? Overall, there are two sides to the subject, one is, the students are able to burn the flag and should not be punished at all, the other side is that burning the flag infringes upon our rights and it is not allowed. The students are able to burn the flag and they shall not be punished.

Read More
782 Words | 4 Pages

Canada Are we sacrificing free speech for others protection? Freedom of speech in Canada is not absolute like for an example in America. Canada has always had a few rules to limit the grotesqueness of some of their books that were published in the past and present. I might not be a fan of restriction of speech whatever form it takes, but i can see what they are trying to do by creating a safer environment for the citizens they have and so on so forth.

Read More
493 Words | 2 Pages

The novel Free Speech on Campus written by Erwin Chemerinsky and Howard Giimportance explains the importance and need for protection of free speech in the United States. During the first two chapters the authors argue for the existence of free speech and the importance it has in our modern era. The central themes of chapters one and two are the history of free speech in the United States and how it has been debated in the courtroom. The most important question that was left unanswered by the authors is based off the last statement made in chapter two, this stated that protection of free speech is important in everyday society but is even more important on college campuses and universities.

Read More
707 Words | 3 Pages

A speech code is any university policy that forbids the use of hateful or contemptuous expressions towards any social group, particularly those categorized based on race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, nationality, religion, etc. In this essay, I will explain why such regulations are justifiable for the reasons that Charles R. Lawrence Ⅲ states in Racist Speech as the Functional Equivalent of Fighting Words. He argues that speech codes “[do] nothing more than prohibit intentional face-to-face insults”(pg 175), and that “racial insults are undeserving of First Amendment protection because the perpetrator’s intention is not to discover truth or initiate dialogue, but to injure the victim.”(pg 175) A prime reason for many universities

Read More
1204 Words | 5 Pages

The article discusses how these are not crimes that are being committed, rather, these are crimes that are only being discussed. This raises the question of whether or not the United States is overcriminilizing speech. The article argues that in order for these crimes to seriously be considered as a criminal offense, the government needs to create an objective way of qualifying what is and

Read More
1197 Words | 5 Pages

The Supreme Court has been entrusted with the task of interpreting the Constitution of the United States. In the First Amendment of the Constitution, freedom of speech serves as the foundational liberty which is the cornerstone to the practice of democracy. Commencing at the early part of the twentieth century cases such as Schenck v. United States, Debs v. United States, Abrams v United States, Whitney v. California, and Dennis v. United States, paved the way for the Court to set the legal standard for defining protected and unprotected speech. Nonetheless, the Court has struggled to interpret said boundaries property and has failed to protect speech in some of the above cases. This essay will analyze two different scenarios where the Court

Read More
770 Words | 4 Pages

Borders of the First Amendment are at the center of the legal debates about free speech and hate speech. While free speech is considered to be a basic right, as the Supreme Court has given the right to free speech. However, when such "free speech" crosses the line and becomes a threat, the courts have stepped in and punished the speaker. First Amendment does not protect free speech that has the intention of doing harm or damage.

Read More
617 Words | 3 Pages

We used the P-MOPS Protocol as a guideline for comparing and contrasting our group’s generated ideas for solutions against our criteria created in Part II of our report. The majority of our ideas for solutions are based in approaching the issue of hate speech with children as the subjects. The others stem from childhood and what can be done to deter the use of hate speech, and further, consequences for using hate speech. In order to begin instilling positive, or at least respectful, thoughts towards others in children, conversations about diversity must take place both at home and in the classroom.

Read More
651 Words | 3 Pages

The U.S. Supreme Court often has struggled to determine what exactly constitutes protected speech.” So, what does the United States Courts say about this case? Well, the U.S. Supreme Court has decided that it is alright to “To use certain offensive words and phrases to convey political messages,” but not to “To incite actions that would harm others.” It seems to me that the

Read More
1001 Words | 5 Pages

I am undecided for Freedom of Speech. There are plenty of good and bad qualities, and as much as there are pros there are also an equal amount of cons to freedom of speech. According to the first amendment, we the people have the freedom of speech which allows us the right to speak freely without censorship. Freedom of speech is not absolute in any country and the right is commonly subject to limitations, such as on “hate speech”. There are many pros and cons to freedom of speech, which is why I am only discussing three pros and cons, that I find that argues the opposite side, to the point it made me undecided on free speech.

Read More
1026 Words | 5 Pages

As human beings, we are all born with an entitlement of freedom of speech or synonymously known as freedom of expression as it is a basic human right. It is stated in the Federal Constitution and it is important for us human beings to protect our rights to freedom of speech and expression as it is the backbone for a democratic society. Having the right to express oneself freely without any restrictions is an essential part of what it means to be a free human being. Article 10 in the Federal Constitution states that; (a) every citizen has the right to freedom of speech and expression; (b) all citizens have the right to assemble peaceably and without arms; (c) all citizens have the right to form associations.

Read More

More about The Pros And Cons Of Free Speech

Related Topics

Open Document