The United States path to freedom was long and arduous. It took almost two hundred years to establish a firm constitution, the limits it had on people, and how much power the government had over citizens’ freedom. On the path to freedom, many people suffered. Eugene V. Debs was sentenced to 10 years in prison simply for talking to a group of workers about something the government disagreed with (Eugene V. Debs). Alice Paul, an early feminist, was imprisoned, beaten, and tortured on multiple occasions simply for speaking her mind on feminism (Alice Paul: Feminist, Suffragist, and Political Strategist). Eventually, the United States established firm constitutional limits, yet, even today people still question just how much power our government
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Freedom of speech is often used to justify cruel actions, like hate speech, which according to the dictionary is, “speech that threatens or insults a person or group on the basis of national origin, ethnicity, color, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation or religion.” People speaking hate speech often leads to bad consequences: “The truth is, when freedom of speech hurts others, it is not just an opinion anymore; it is a form of hate speech…Victims of these crimes can become depressed and harm themselves (Is Freedom of Speech always a good thing).” Using words to cause harm to others often can lead to bad consequences. In 2013, CBS news did a report on how cyber speech and hate speech affects teenagers. They found that 1 in 4 teenagers is bullied; 1 out of 10 teenagers, in a year will attempt suicide; and 1 out of 5 teenagers seriously think about it. They talked to parents whose children had committed suicide, and found that their children had faced some sort of bullying at school or online. It was never physical though. It was always some form of hate speech (Words Can Kill). As seen in the CBS news report the misuse of the right of freedom of speech can often lead to a person’s death. Often, when people are accused of using words to be too cruel, they use freedom of speech as an excuse to justify what they have said. However, “Freedom of speech . . . can cause serious harm . . . While …show more content…
“Government can limit some protected speech by imposing "time, place and manner" restrictions . . . a permit cannot be unreasonably withheld . . . That would be what is called viewpoint discrimination -- and that is unconstitutional (Freedom of Expression).” The government limiting freedom of speech would go directly against the first amendment, and therefore, the government can’t get involved. According to PEW research, only 28% of United States citizens think the government has the right to censor hate speech. 51% of people not residing in the US think the government has the right to censor speech (limiting offensive speech). To solve the misuse of freedom of speech, one cannot rely on the government’s power. One has to rely on their own power to see what is moral and immoral. We cannot simply sit back and watch as a person uses freedom of speech to be cruel, as we have seen the
Freedom of speech is often used to justify cruel actions, like hate speech, which according to the dictionary is, “speech that threatens or insults a person or group on the basis of national origin, ethnicity, color, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation or religion.” People speaking hate speech often leads to bad consequences: “The truth is, when freedom of speech hurts others, it is not just an opinion anymore; it is a form of hate speech…Victims of these crimes can become depressed and harm themselves (Is Freedom of Speech always a good thing).” Using words to cause harm to others often can lead to bad consequences. In 2013, CBS news did a report on how cyber speech and hate speech affects teenagers. They found that 1 in 4 teenagers is bullied; 1 out of 10 teenagers, in a year will attempt suicide; and 1 out of 5 teenagers seriously think about it. They talked to parents whose children had committed suicide, and found that their children had faced some sort of bullying at school or online. It was never physical though. It was always some form of hate speech (Words Can Kill). As seen in the CBS news report the misuse of the right of freedom of speech can often lead to a person’s death. Often, when people are accused of using words to be too cruel, they use freedom of speech as an excuse to justify what they have said. However, “Freedom of speech . . . can cause serious harm . . . While …show more content…
“Government can limit some protected speech by imposing "time, place and manner" restrictions . . . a permit cannot be unreasonably withheld . . . That would be what is called viewpoint discrimination -- and that is unconstitutional (Freedom of Expression).” The government limiting freedom of speech would go directly against the first amendment, and therefore, the government can’t get involved. According to PEW research, only 28% of United States citizens think the government has the right to censor hate speech. 51% of people not residing in the US think the government has the right to censor speech (limiting offensive speech). To solve the misuse of freedom of speech, one cannot rely on the government’s power. One has to rely on their own power to see what is moral and immoral. We cannot simply sit back and watch as a person uses freedom of speech to be cruel, as we have seen the