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Limiting freedom of speech
Limiting freedom of speech
The first amendment
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Recommended: Limiting freedom of speech
Protection of the Commercial Use of Free Speech
If there is a bedrock principle underlying the First Amendment, it is that
government may not prohibit the expression of an idea simply because society
finds the idea morally offensive or disagreeable."
It is because I believe these words by Justice Brennan, I stand for the
negation of today's resolution, that "When they Conflict, Respect for.......
Cultural Sensitivity Ought To Be Valued Above Commercial Use of Free Speech."
My value for today's debate is that of Free expression, which I will define
as the freedom to express our thoughts, ideas, and beliefs, freely and openly,
without restraint. My criteria is the degree to which free speech is allowed in the
business environment.
I have three contentions to support my value of Free Expression, and to
negate the resolution. My first contention is, It is virtually impossible to avoid
offending someone's culture in our multi-cultural society. Second, Freedom of
speech is based on our valuing the autonomy of individuals to make informed
decisions. My third contention is that there is no moral responsibility of the
commercial media to suppress certain speech because it violates some cultural
sensitivity.
My first contention is It is virtually impossible to avoid offending someone's
culture in our multi-cultural society. As Edward J. Eberle states, "One man's
vulgarity, is another man's lyric.". The concept of cultural sensitivity is too vague
a concept to be enforced. One can intend no offense, and yet offense can be
taken. How many people must be offended before it constitutes cultural
insensitivity? In a country that will tolerate hate speeches by the Ku Klux Klan in
the name of free speech, it is unreasonable to limit the commercial use of free
speech because someone might be offended by a commercial. Let the
general public determine what is offensive and they will react with disfavor. If
the public felt strongly enough to boycott products and services because they
were offended by a company's advertising, that company will pull the add.
That is the American way, and it works.
My second contention is that, Freedom of speech is based on our valuing
the autonomy of individuals to make informed decisions. The resolution suggests
that it would be wise to remove certain types of information from the public-
those that violate the cultural sensitivity of some people. The resolution also
suggests that individual members of our culture are not capable of making
informed decisions on matters of cultural sensitivity. No one cultural outlook is so
privileged that it cannot or should not be included in the testing that occurs in
the marketplace of ideas.
within the protection of the Free Speech Clause of the First Amendment and the Due
If limitations are placed on some things, but not others, then it will lead to a great deal of conflict. Freedom of expression is a great thing, however it does come along with a few negative side effects. This including, hateful, ignorant, and rude individuals who do not care what they say. Some want to be able to control these hateful people and restrict what they are permitted to do or say. But, where is the gray line?
The case, R. v. Keegstra, constructs a framework concerning whether the freedom of expression should be upheld in a democratic society, even wh...
Freedom of speech has been a controversial issue throughout the world. Our ability to say whatever we want is very important to us as individuals and communities. Although freedom of speech and expression may sometimes be offensive to other people, it is still everyone’s right to express his/her opinion under the American constitution which states that “congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or the press”. Although this amendment gave people the right express thier opinions, it still rests in one’s own hands as how far they will go to exercise that right of freedom of speech.
Peter, Sagal. “Should There Be Limits on Freedom of Speech?” 25 March. 2013. PSB. PBS.com 14 Nov.
Because it is a Constitutional right, the concept of freedom of speech is hardly ever questioned. “On its most basic level [freedom of speech] means you can express an opinion without fear of censorship by the government, even if that opinion is an unpopular one” (Landmark Cases). However, the actions of Americans that are included under “free speech,” are often questioned. Many people support the theory of “free speech,” but may oppose particular practices of free speech that personally offend them. This hypocrisy is illustrated by the case of Neo-Nazis whose right to march in Skokie, Illinois in 1979 was protested by many, but ultimately successfully defended by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU). The residents of this predominantly Jewish town which contained many Holocaust survivors were offended by the presence of the Neo-Nazis. However, then ACLU Executive Director Aryeh Neier, who...
should be used as an expression of freedom and should not be overtly scrutinized as to what is
Since this country was founded, we have had a set of unalienable rights that our constitution guarantees us to as Americans. One of the most important rights that is mentioned in our constitution is the right to free speech. “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the
Stanley Fish states in his essay “The Free-Speech Follies”, “The modern American version of crying wolf is crying First Amendment” (496). The First Amendment is made up of five basic freedoms given to the United States citizens that consist of freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom to hold a peaceful protest, freedom of press, and the right to protest. Within the Constitution there are no words that state the rights include for society to speak rudely to, or about, others. The article “Freedom of Speech” explains, “Slander consists of orally making and libel consists of publishing false statements that are damaging to the reputation of another” (1). People are allowed to have their own beliefs and opinions; however, they should not
In society the topic of free speech comes up very frequently. One side will argue that there should be no limit on what someone wants to say, while others believe that the idea on full free speech is dangerous and should be restricted. In a video that was presented to us there was a debate that conquered this topic on why or why not this should be allowed. This topic of free speech has gone on for decades and continues to be a fight on whether it should be limited.
If we were to limit which forms of "expression" should be allowed, we would not only be doing ourselves an injustice, we would also be setting ourselves up for an eventual demise and a disintegration of our values and beliefs. The freedom of speech and expression allows everyone a chance to be able to express and experiment. The very nature of our country rests upon our ability to be able to express ourselves in new and inventive ways. If we were to limit this ability, then production values of what our minds can conceive of are greatly reduced.
Censorship should be something that people and businesses choose to do on their own, for their own reasons. The media should never be allowed to censor anything, because it is their job to provide information, not hide it. Businesses should decide whether or not to apply censorship as a business model, based on what they believe that the customers want, not based on any law that one thing or another should never be seen or There cannot be too much free speech, the more the better. Everyone everywhere should always have the right to say whatever they want. People should also be allowed to argue with people whose opinions the dislike.
The Bill of Rights has gained existence since December 15, 1791. Being supported mainly by anti-federalists, the Bill of Rights upheld what was needed to protect individual liberty. From the ratification we have our first ten amendments. The most important and used today is the first amendment. The amendment states “Congress shall make no law respecting… petition the government for a redress of grievances.” This amendment is very powerful but cannot be overly abused. Over time the freedom of speech has been constricted. There are many court cases that display the limitation of free speech. Environmental factors and certain materials are not covered in free speech. To understand our rights and know how and when our rights are limited, we must
Topic: Do you believe that free speech as proscribed under the first amendment of the constitution should be limited?
People tend to exploit their rights, just by hurting someone’s feelings or dignity as Waldron said in his book (Harm in Hate Speech, 2012). Sometimes the message that has been conveyed is not what is actually intended to be said. But what comes out of someone’s mouth couldn’t be taken back. There are times when people don’t care if they are being offensive because either they don’t know that it might hurt the feelings of others or they have full intension of using their rights in a way that would cause mental stress for others.