Free Speech Advantages

Free Speech was fundamental in the foundation of the United States, and has served as a crucial aspect of our society ever since the establishment of the constitution. The united states was founded by people wishing to seek religious and ideological freedom from oppressive governments. Moving forward from the start of the country, free speech has allowed for more ideological and technological innovation than arguably and other place in the world. By allowing anyone to share their opinions and innovations with the public, the country was able to see political and economic growth like no other country had seen before. Unfortunately, free speech has seen a massive influx of criticism recently. This is particularly harmful because it could take …show more content…
The idea of censoring unpopular beliefs conjures images of the oppressive governments that our founding fathers fought so hard to avoid recreating. Free speech is essential to higher learning because engaging in truly open discussion is the only way that new ideas and opinions can come forth. Allowing for anyone to share their opinion, no matter how unpopular, is the most effective way of making intellectual progress. Free speech allows for open discussion and criticisms which causes the strongest and most intelligently backed ideas to gain prevalence in society. Many critics of free speech would argue that some ideologies are harmful to a civilized society and they shouldn’t be allowed to spread because it might prove to be detrimental. This argument is intrinsically flawed because whether or not an ideology is harmful is entirely up to human perception. Therefor, what one person views as progressive or beneficial might be considered harmful by another. By blocking unpopular ideologies from sprouting, communities would succumb to a glorified mob rule. Allowing this to happen would be a mockery to the principles on which …show more content…
Censoring certain beliefs and ideologies would prove very counterintuitive when attempting to achieve this elevated form of community. Colleges are meant to equip their students with the abilities and tools needed to be an effective member of society. Censoring information stops students from being able to filter and interpret information on their own, which is an important part of being a functioning member of society. Furthermore, censoring information fundamentally opposes the concept of a liberal and free society. The first amendment gives the citizens of the United States the right to peacefully share ideas and criticisms. Nowhere in the constitution does it state that this right does not apply if the ideas are unpopular