On the most recent list Reporters Without Boarders released in 2010, Norway was listed as tied for the number one spot for the country with the most freedom of speech (Press Freedom Index 2010). Since Reporters Without Borders has been compiling a list of the countries, ranking them from one to one hundred seventy-eight, for countries with the best freedom of speech; Norway has been tied for first in all years since 2002. It was only in 2006 that Norway lost its number one ranking and fell to being tied for the number sixth spot. Regardless of its fall to the number sixth place in 2006 (Press Freedom Index 2010), according to the information Reporters Without Borders has collected, Norway is one of the best countries in the world for freedom of expression. Looking at the demographics of the country, what other countries perceive Norway as, and why and how Norway became one of the countries with the best freedom of speech it’s easy to see why Norway has such a great ranking with Reporters Without Borders. The Norwegian constitution was laid down on May 17th, 1814. The first amendment states, “Norway is “a free, independent, inadvisable, and inalienable Realm” (The Constitution - Complete Text). Since the creation of this constitution Norway has led itself into being one of the freest places in the world.
A country that lacks diversity within its people that live there can allow for a more peaceful community. A country that has a lot of diversity could create tension between the people of that country therefore, freedom of speech may have to be limited because of more crime occurring because of too much freedom. Looking at the demographics of Norway is an excellent insight into their top ranking freedom of speech the country allows...
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...Norway all work for allowing Norwegian citizens to have a wide range of speech that other countries don’t or can’t allow.
Works Cited
"The Constitution - Complete Text." Forsiden - Stortinget.no. Web. 12 Dec. 2011. .
"Freedom of Expression Foundation, Oslo." Fritt Ord. Web. 11 Dec. 2011.
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"Norway." U.S. Department of State. Web. 12 Dec. 2011. .
"Norway Demographics Profile 2011." Index Mundi - Country Facts. Web. 11 Dec. 2011. .
"Press Freedom Index 2010." Reporters Without Borders. Web. 12 Dec. 2011. .
Skarstein, Vigdis. There Shall Be Freedom of Expression. Print.
Allowing freedom of expression to everyone was not an easy step to take, because some thought that depending on someone's colour, and or race their opinion did not matter. The beginning steps began with the expression of religion allowing everyone to practise their religion in peace, with reasonable limits, soon all colours around the country were expressing their opinions to problems that took place in their society, and government. This human right may easily be more important than the other human right, saving lives from discrimination, and hate. The near future looks well organized as “freedom of expression” is passed on and used by everyone, prevents arguments due to the fact that everyone has a say, not considering one's class. Freedom of expressions is a fundamental right, which in most times is greatly used over all the other human rights. The right to speak plays a vital role in the healthy development of any society, without it the rich become richer, and the poor become more poor. The days of that have passed, now freedom of expression has moved on from Canada, and travels around the world to countries, where people are put to work against their will. The change will be drastic for the better and freedom of expression provides importance for the other human rights in the near
Free speech gives the government an opportunity to listen to what the people want in a peaceful manner. When taking a peaceful approach and creating an improved system, the likelihood of the government responding and making changes becomes
We appealed to this topic personally because of everything we see nowadays starting off with the election, all the way to how people choose to express themselves these days. Freedom of speech is encouraged in this country, but can having full freedom of speech affect us more positive
1. The measure of a great society is the ability of its citizens to tolerate the viewpoints of those with whom they disagree. As Voltaire once said, “I may disagree with what you have to say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it” (Columbia). This right to express one's opinion can be characterized as “freedom of speech.” The concept of “freedom of speech” is a Constitutional right in the United States, guaranteed under the First Amendment to the Constitution:
right guaranteed to all Americans. The difficulty in protecting freedom of speech is not in
The right to freedom of expression can be described as a war. It is a
The United States of America is often known for having more freedom than anywhere else. As Gandhi said, “A ‘no’ uttered from the deepest conviction is better and greater than a ‘yes’ uttered to please, or what is worse, to avoid trouble.” Freedom of speech is a big part of the American culture and citizens are encouraged to speak their minds and opinions openly. It is such an important aspect of each American individual that it is
Imagine a time when one could be fined, imprisoned and even killed for simply speaking one’s mind. Speech is the basic vehicle for communication of beliefs, thoughts and ideas. Without the right to speak one’s mind freely one would be forced to agree with everything society stated. With freedom of speech one’s own ideas can be expressed freely and the follower’s belief will be stronger. The words sound so simple, but without them the world would be a very different place.
"Free speech is the whole thing, the whole ball game. Free speech is life itself." The basic rights guaranteed to Americans in the Bill of Rights is what holds the United States together. When Salman Rushdie wrote Guardian, he knew this. Unfortunately, the majority of congress and the President himself have forgotten the basic rights of Americans. When President William J. Clinton signed the Communications Decency Act that was proposed but the 104th Congress, he severely limited the rights of Americans on the Internet. The internet, just like books, magazines, artwork, and newspapers, should not be censored.
In the United States, free speech is protected by the First Amendment in which it states, “Congress shall make no laws respecting an establishment of religion … or abridging the freedom of speech.” Now, nearly 250 years into the future, the exact thing that the Founding Fathers were afraid of is starting to happen. Today, our freedom of speech is being threatened through different forces, such as the tyranny of the majority, the protection of the minority, and the stability of the society. Now, colleges and universities in the United States today are also trying to institute a code upon its students that would bar them from exercising their right to speak freely in the name of protecting minorities from getting bullied. This brings us into
...ntinuously keeping people from saying what they want, the government is simply making them want to act out and speak out even more. To become a better nation or better citzens, we must learn to tolerate or accept the ideas of others no matter how absurd or profane they may be. No one has to agree with these ideas. Being able to tolerate the opinions of others leads to order and peace ( Tinder 44). For us to really be a free nation we must allow true free speech. “Order and peace are spontaneous and will tend to prevail wherever there is freedom” (Tinder 45).
The media censorship appears in various forms and in almost all countries; few have legal systems that guarantee absolute freedom of the media.
Most countries do not give people full freedom, and yet we take our freedom for granted, and don’t realize how lucky we are to have freedom. When the pilgrims came to the new world, they came to have freedom, religious freedom. I know some countries don’t allow religious freedom, and if anyone goes against the established religion, they will be treated harshly. There is another type of freedom, the freedom of speech. Once again, many countries don’t have the privilege to speak freely, think about that, if they say something wrong, or have an opinion that in the eye’s of their government is wrong, then they will be punished. Freedom of speech allows to have any opinion we want, even if it’s an unpopular opinion, we can still have that opinion. Or maybe we don’t like something about the government, we can go against the government, and stand up to them, and we won’t be persecuted. Many countries punish those who speak against the government. Though at one point we did not have freedom of speech, the Sedition act of 1798, which stated that anyone who goes against the government, or have malicious writings about the government would either be fined or imprisoned. I do not agree with what you have to say, but I'll defend to the death your right to say it."-Evelyn Beatrice Hall, 1906
Throughout the development of new nations within the last two centuries, there have been various issues raised and fought over regarding the ruling of the nations themselves and the nation’s peoples. These issues range anywhere from form of government; whether a nation should be a tyranny, monarchy, or a democracy; to how much freedom the nation’s citizens should have. By and large one of the most important topics in recent politics is the idea of media censorship, anywhere from the question of first amendment rights in the United States to the extremely dystopian society of North Korea, where incredibly censored and doctored information dominates social life - and anything positive is re-written to be caused by their ‘dear leader’, whoever the current monarch may be.
Freedom of speech cannot be considered an absolute freedom, and even society and the legal system recognize the boundaries or general situations where the speech should not be protected. Along with rights comes civil responsib...