Why We Need Freedom of Speech

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Our Founding Fathers signed a highly important document on September 17, 1787 that had ideas that were unique at that time. It formed a new government that has lasted for over 200 years. The United States Constitution gives Americans rights at birth that lasts until the time they die. One of the most important rights is in Amendment I, or more specifically, the freedom of speech. Freedom of speech gives one the right to express or say their opinions with no restraint. Americans across the nation use this right everyday from having bumper stickers on their cars to protesting for what they believe in. We, as Americans, should not limit freedom of speech. Even though it allows hate speech towards people of different ethnicities, races, sexual orientation, and other groups, it also allows people to support these groups. Other positive components of freedom speech is that it allows one to express themselves and their opinions without being penalized by authorities and it is a way for people to check the government. Freedom of speech holds great importance in the American society. Freedom of speech is incredibly important for its ability to let Americans express themselves and their viewpoints on certain ideas. It also allows them to express themself in the way that they want to. This includes wearing clothing, arguing, and simply just speaking. Many cases have been fought and have gone all the way up to the Supreme Court regarding freedom of speech like Tinker v. Des Moines in 1969. Mary Beth Tinker “and a group of students decided to wear black armbands to school to protest the war in Vietnam,” and, “were suspended.” “Because wearing a black armband was not disruptive, the Court held that the First Amendment protected the right of stu... ... middle of paper ... ...o not allow one side of people, the haters, to talk and let the other side, the supporters, to talk. This would say that one group of people have more power than the other because they have a certain right while the others do not. That would be unconstitutional. An individual would come to this major problem while trying to limit the freedom of speech. Limiting freedom of speech would be a huge mistake. It was created in the Constitution in 1776 and has lasted for over 200 years for a reason. If we limit freedom of speech, we would limit the hurtful speech along with their positive counterparts. Also, limiting it would take away our rights to express ourselves and our opinions and our rights to check the government with no restraint from public officials. Many would want to limit the freedom of speech, but if you think about it, that would be tremendously atrocious.

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