At some point in life, everyone has probably been complimented before. On the other hand, everyone has most likely felt hurt or offended by something someone else has said and as a result have wished they hadn’t said anything at all. This is where the problem concerning free speech arises. Should all thoughts still be voiced even if it is possible to offend someone? As a solution, it’s possible to censor free speech, but this comes with consequences. It is impossible to measure subjective terms such as “offensive,” which is why all discourse, kind and cruel, should be allowed irregardless of how it affects others. When people censor free speech it leads to the growth of speech restrictions. Often, when someone gets offended they automatically
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The civil rights movements and other large political events of the 21st and 22nd centuries will be started or progressed in majority by this generation alone. The parents of this millennial generation, generation X, learned the importance of free speech and its power in their time with things such as the Vietnam War, Nixon’s presidency, and even the creation of Microsoft. In order to protect future civil rights movements and other developments, it is vital that society puts a stop on enabling and teaching censorship envy as it is one of the main catalysts in the growing restrictions of free speech in our country. There’s still hope though! In a study done at Smith College, it was found that most students don’t want to put limitations on discourse at college (McCartney). Even more interestingly, they found that “most agreed that we don’t have the right to not be offended,” but we do, “have an obligation to learn what offends” (McCartney). As Volokh explained in his article, we must live with offensive speech, because we don’t have the right not to be offended, or else we could loose speech we also cherish. It is true that most of the millennial generation seems to have an obsession with free speech. This could be the result of their never ending stream to new knowledge. The internet has not only allowed millennials to use their free speech rights, but
The civil rights movements and other large political events of the 21st and 22nd centuries will be started or progressed in majority by this generation alone. The parents of this millennial generation, generation X, learned the importance of free speech and its power in their time with things such as the Vietnam War, Nixon’s presidency, and even the creation of Microsoft. In order to protect future civil rights movements and other developments, it is vital that society puts a stop on enabling and teaching censorship envy as it is one of the main catalysts in the growing restrictions of free speech in our country. There’s still hope though! In a study done at Smith College, it was found that most students don’t want to put limitations on discourse at college (McCartney). Even more interestingly, they found that “most agreed that we don’t have the right to not be offended,” but we do, “have an obligation to learn what offends” (McCartney). As Volokh explained in his article, we must live with offensive speech, because we don’t have the right not to be offended, or else we could loose speech we also cherish. It is true that most of the millennial generation seems to have an obsession with free speech. This could be the result of their never ending stream to new knowledge. The internet has not only allowed millennials to use their free speech rights, but