“With freedom of speech comes great responsibility and one has to be sensitive to the people within a society, so there has to be a limit to what can be said” (Jon Benjamin). Ever since the Bill of Rights was approved in 1791, arguments about freedom of speech have consistently taken place. The American people have never been certain about what they can and cannot say. Although freedom of speech is valuable to the American way of life, it needs to be regulated to protect citizens from harmful hate speech that “assaults their dignity as human beings” (Heyman).
First of all, In the article, “Free Speech Has Limits”, Steven Heyman discusses the idea that to create limits we must first transform our understanding of the First Amendment to develop …show more content…
With the birth of the internet, it has become easier for people to voice their opinion and discourage others while being almost anonymous. John Peeler, in his article, “Should Free Speech be Limited?”, summed it up nicely by saying “these days one may say almost anything, and spend any amount to disseminate what one says. Those who are injured by such speech have only the remedy of their own freedom of speech.” The big word that reconciles with the word offended is opinion. Everyone’s opinion is important, however, somehow someone is going to be offended by it. Christopher Hitchens, in his speech on free speech states that, “my own opinion is enough for me and I claim the right to have it defended against any consensus, any majority, anywhere, any place, any time.” He makes a point, opinions are valuable and often help others understand topics better. Hitchens also brings up the point about people's right to listen and declares that, “once you silence someone, you are making yourself a prisoner of your own actions because you deny yourself the right to hear something.” Although this quote is in support of not placing limits on speech, it brings up an interesting point that some things need to be heard to better improve our way of life. No matter how misinformed and uneducated a person's statement may be, something can be learned from it. Today,
First of all, In the article, “Free Speech Has Limits”, Steven Heyman discusses the idea that to create limits we must first transform our understanding of the First Amendment to develop …show more content…
With the birth of the internet, it has become easier for people to voice their opinion and discourage others while being almost anonymous. John Peeler, in his article, “Should Free Speech be Limited?”, summed it up nicely by saying “these days one may say almost anything, and spend any amount to disseminate what one says. Those who are injured by such speech have only the remedy of their own freedom of speech.” The big word that reconciles with the word offended is opinion. Everyone’s opinion is important, however, somehow someone is going to be offended by it. Christopher Hitchens, in his speech on free speech states that, “my own opinion is enough for me and I claim the right to have it defended against any consensus, any majority, anywhere, any place, any time.” He makes a point, opinions are valuable and often help others understand topics better. Hitchens also brings up the point about people's right to listen and declares that, “once you silence someone, you are making yourself a prisoner of your own actions because you deny yourself the right to hear something.” Although this quote is in support of not placing limits on speech, it brings up an interesting point that some things need to be heard to better improve our way of life. No matter how misinformed and uneducated a person's statement may be, something can be learned from it. Today,