"For to be free is not merely to cast off one's chains, but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others." Nelson Mandela. Freedom of speech to many is considered a sacred right, it is considered a key right to any democracy and is a value that is held in high esteem everywhere, particularly in liberal democracy. But should fascists be allowed to voice their opinions, rally, and run for government? This is an important question that many of us would not question. Of course everyone should have a right to voice their opinion, but what if this opinion threatens the freedom of others. Chomsky who says "it's either we believe in free speech for people we disagree with, or we don't at all." Well others have said "Oppressive …show more content…
My answer is that fascists, and extreme reactionaries, need to be stopped before harm is done to the victims fascists see as subhuman.. The truth is, when we look back at history, we see what happens when fascists are allowed to organize unopposed. They kill racial minorities and other vulnerable groups, and in a few cases, have seized state power. Adolf Hitler being the most obvious example. He ran in elections, eventually the current president at the time, Hindenburg, finally gave in after the previous chancellor failed to attract popular support, and appointed Hitler as chancellor. Hitler went on to become the dictator of Nazi Germany, and as a result, millions suffered, and died. After we apparently learned our lesson, over seventy years later, society seems to be repeating their mistakes. "Denying fascists their free speech makes you a fascist!" They cry, "We must preserve liberal values!" They scream. Recently we have seen protestors holding signs that state “Love Trumps Hate” it is indeed a beautiful concept, "the market of ideas" liberal pluralism, the belief that even with fascists, we should preserve our integrity and liberal values, and everything will work itself out. However, this is a flawed idea, that history has proven is a dangerous delusion. Perhaps the liberals screaming about free speech, will adopt an alternative perspective when they are behind the barb wired fence.The truth about fascists is, they don't play by the same rules. They will backstab, use deceit, trickery, and anything they deem necessary to achieve their ends, which are horrific. Best way to describe it, is unjustified means, unjustified ends. Because of the fact that they will use anything at their disposal to achieve their ends, it makes them much more of a threat to seize power, even by force. We already see President Trump doing this, going back on all his anti-establishment appeals. His cabinet consists of mostly
“Everyone loves free expression as long as it isn't exercised” (Rosenblatt 501). In the article, We are Free to Be You, Me, Stupid, and Dead, Roger Rosenblatt argues for the people’s right to freedom of speech and expression, that is given by the U.S Constitution. Rosenblatt argues that freedom of speech is one of the many reasons the Founding Fathers developed this country. For this reason, Rosenblatt believes that we should be tolerant and accepting of other’s ideas and beliefs. Even if one does not agree with someone else, they need to be understanding and realize that people have differing opinions.
To understand why Fascism gained such popularity after WWI, it is essential to find a working definition of what Fascism actually is. According to Benito Mussolini and his document What is Fascism, Fascism is “the conception of the state, its character, its duty, and its aim.” It is concerned primarily and totally with the affairs of state rather than those of the individual. The chief duty of a man in a Fascist nation is to do what he can to elevate the state to higher power or assist the state in whatever means necessary in its goals. As is evident to anyone studying this period in history, Fascism “repudiates the doctrine of Pacifism…” meaning that it is most certainly not afraid to use force or war to accomplish its objectives. A Fascist, especially a male Fascist, aspires to be a hero to his country and an ally to the state or nation of which he is a part. A woman ...
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.
Fascism --a political philosophy that exalts nation and often race above the individual-- lays the underpinnings for the Nazi regimen. Ipso facto, it is not unfo...
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:
According to the “Derechos, Human Rights”, freedom of speech is one of the most dangerous rights, because it means the freedom to express one's discontent with the status quo and the desire to change it. These types of rights are protected by ACLU and other type of organization like UNESCO. ACLU is “America’s nation's guardian of liberty”, working daily in courts, legislatures and communities to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties that the Constitution and laws of the United States guarantee everyone in America. Freedom of speech is a gift to human beings, without this right the people couldn’t express themselves or even worst, to say what they feel or want for a better life. United States is one of the countries that protect this right, but in the world there are governments that do not respect and do not know that this right exists. The relation between democratic government and freedom of speech is that they both depend in each other.
Firstly I will look at some of the effects of fascism, starting with one of the most devastating tragedies the world has witnessed, the holocaust. It is not known who first proposed the term holocaust, but we can draw assumptions as to why it was adopted. The Jewish community are likely to have adopted this name in order to distinguish it from what unfortunately, become the routine cases of war crimes and genocide. When we look at the figures of deaths in the holocaust, we do not even need to examine the way in which many of the victims died, to understand just how horrific the effects of fascism had been.
Fascism is defined as, “an authoritarian and nationalistic right-wing system of government and social organization.” Peter Hyland reports that throughout the 1920s and the 1930s, an economic depression was growing and becoming widespread throughout the world. People were losing faith in their democracies and in capitalism. Leaders who gained power supported powerful militarism, nationalism, and initiated the return of an authoritarian rule. J.R. Oppenheimer says that the rise of fascism and totalitarianism in Europe and Russia instigated a “critical step on the path to war.”
...ing its targets down, therefore people must learn to successfully overcome the feelings that it intends to induce. Like Rauch says, people must not try to eradicate hate speech, rather criticize and try to correct it. There is no wrong in standing up for yourself but there is an enormous wrong in limiting speech, hateful or not.
In conclusion, fascism has proved to be a burden on our history. Although not everyone is informed on exactly what fascism is, everyone should be aware of how fascist movements are started and how dangerous they can be. Hopefully after reading this paper, the reader will have gained a better knowledge of fascism and will know how to spot examples.
When we heard about fascism, Germany and Italy enter our mind on the basis of the fact that these countrie's leaders caused the worst results which affected nearly all World.Today, however, most people believe that fascism is not a threat any more and there will be no leader who may like Mussolini or Adolf Hitler but I highly consider that fascism still pose a danger and in Europe the new fascist leaders may rise like in Turkey.But what is Fascism and leaders are really playing an important role ? I think firstly we should answer these questions.Fascism may refer to general social movement of right wing revolutionary conservatism in Europe.The term ''fascist'' was first applied to a political movement which combine ultranationalism with hostility and conservatism by Mussolini in 1919.The first fascist movements occured in Italy during World War I and it united right wing positions and elements of left wing politics.Fascists seek to bring together their nation through a totalitarian state which developed the huge mobilization of the national community.
In the late 1930s complaisant European nations were lulled into the jaws of the very dangerous “victim/slave mentality.” Weak democracies tried placating and accommodating the tyrannical proponents of the Communist, Socialist and Fascist ideologies and Europe soon found itself in jeopardy with maniacs like Stalin, Hitler and Mussolini threatening the existence of taken-for-granted freedom and human rights. Thanks to the intervention of the United States Hitler and Mussolini were defeated (despite incredible adversity) and Europe was salvaged from the scourge of Fascism. But Nazi Fascism did not go away meekly. Its defeat required intensive struggle, sacrifice and perseverance with over 50 million military and civilian deaths occurring during the widespread devastation.
...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).
In this world today, hate is becoming increasingly more abundant, especially as it concerns race. Whether it be an unarmed black man shot by a white police officer or the use of racial slurs towards someone, it seems like racism is all around us. In the book To Kill A Mockingbird, it shows a little girl named Scout using racial slurs. Racism is so culturally accepted in the town that it’s okay to use racial slurs such as the N-Word that even Atticus, a lawyer representing a black man falsely accused of rape, uses it a couple of times. Earlier this year, the Ku Klux Klan, a group of white supremacists, held a violent rally in Charlottesville, Virginia and proved that racism isn’t a thing of the past. In order to combat racism, groups of like-minded individuals with a common goal of making the world a more accepting place must come together to stand up
Freedom of speech has many positive things, one of which is the help it gives on decision-making. Thanks to freedom of speech it is possible to express personal ideas without fear or restraints; therefore, all the perspectives and options will be on the table, giving people more opportunities to choose from. Nevertheless, everything in life has a limit, and the limit of freedom of speech depends directly on the consideration of the rights of others. People is free of believing what they want, thinking what they want, and even saying what they want, everything as long as they do not intrude or violate anyone else's rights. Under certain circumstances freedom of speech should be limited, and this is more than just a political action, this acts represent the urge for tolerance and the need for respect.