When you examine the speech in the United States you can begin to see that the country is a very politically correct society. Words that suppress, oppress, belittle, arouse, and discourage others are seen by many in a negative light and are censored out of our speech and ultimately eliminated. In fact, the definition of political correctness found in the Merriam-Webster dictionary is “conforming to a belief that language and practices which could offend political sensibilities (as in matters of sex or race) should be eliminated” (Merriam-Webster). This belief that the world should conform to eliminating offensive language not only oppresses people’s ideas, but infringes on their 1st Amendment right to the freedom of speech. Freedom of speech
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Colleges are becoming the main focus of these discussions lately due to the restrictive rules put into place on the campuses. Many colleges have put rules into place that restrict speech beyond what the constitution demands. This limits the freedom of speech students have and ultimately denies them of their constitutional right. Freedom of speech includes the right to speak or not speak, protesting with clothing, using “certain or offensive words to convey political messages”, to contribute financially to political campaigns, to advertise, and to “engage in symbolic speech” such as the burning of the flag. These certain freedoms that have been fought for in court to give American citizens the right to express and protest their believes without fear of breaking the law. However, our freedom of speech does not include inciting actions that could harm others, “making or distributing obscene material”, burning draft cards, students advocating drug use at school events, students delivering obscene speech at school events, and students writing articles in school newspapers about their objections to the administrators. (United States Courts). Many believe that the constitution specifically restricts hate speech but this is false. In fact, “hateful ideas are just as protected under the First Amendment as other ideas. One is as free to condemn Islam — or Muslims, or Jews, or blacks, or whites, or illegal aliens, or native-born citizens — as one is to condemn capitalism or Socialism or Democrats or Republicans”. There are a few exceptions to this but they are limited and apply in extreme circumstances. One exception is the use of fighting words, or words that are said towards a person and likely to incite a fight (Volokh). These fighting words are not permissible by the 1st Amendment and should not be considered free speech. Free speech is not specifically defined in the
Colleges are becoming the main focus of these discussions lately due to the restrictive rules put into place on the campuses. Many colleges have put rules into place that restrict speech beyond what the constitution demands. This limits the freedom of speech students have and ultimately denies them of their constitutional right. Freedom of speech includes the right to speak or not speak, protesting with clothing, using “certain or offensive words to convey political messages”, to contribute financially to political campaigns, to advertise, and to “engage in symbolic speech” such as the burning of the flag. These certain freedoms that have been fought for in court to give American citizens the right to express and protest their believes without fear of breaking the law. However, our freedom of speech does not include inciting actions that could harm others, “making or distributing obscene material”, burning draft cards, students advocating drug use at school events, students delivering obscene speech at school events, and students writing articles in school newspapers about their objections to the administrators. (United States Courts). Many believe that the constitution specifically restricts hate speech but this is false. In fact, “hateful ideas are just as protected under the First Amendment as other ideas. One is as free to condemn Islam — or Muslims, or Jews, or blacks, or whites, or illegal aliens, or native-born citizens — as one is to condemn capitalism or Socialism or Democrats or Republicans”. There are a few exceptions to this but they are limited and apply in extreme circumstances. One exception is the use of fighting words, or words that are said towards a person and likely to incite a fight (Volokh). These fighting words are not permissible by the 1st Amendment and should not be considered free speech. Free speech is not specifically defined in the