Freedom of Speech Essay Example

Is freedom of speech really free? Can we really speak our minds or are there consequences to the words we speak? We're supposed to be able to speak our minds, but is there backlash that comes with that? We all have opinions on things that are going on in this world. Some of us agree with each other and some of us don’t. Where is that fine line of who is right and who is wrong? What is going too far and okay to just say?

The first amendment is supposed to protect speech no matter how offensive it may be. Social media emerged as a very crucial tool in exposing police violence against Black individuals. The attention of the Supreme Court was caught and they call social media “principal source for knowing current events, speaking and listening in the modern public square, and  exploring the vast realms of human thoughts and knowledge. When you think of a time that someone stood up for what they believed in like the “take a knee” protest. In support of the black lives matter protest, players kneeled during the national anthem as a symbol of their support. These actions are private conduct, but players are under contract. This means the first amendment has no part to play. When this happened millions of people had seen the players actions. It was spread all over social media and commentators were talking about it. The taking a knee stance caused a wave of reactions with agreement and disagreement, but it most definitely came with backlash.

College is a place where the younger generation can speak their mind. John.s and James L. Knight did a study with college students about their perception of free speech. 96 percent of college students view free speech as being highly important to democracy (Knight Foundation). 91 percent of students all said free speech is important in diversity too. Most students agree that free speech protects them as individuals. Other students thought there should be some kind of rules or limitations on campus. One in four students thought that political views that our offensive should be restricted(Knight Foundation). A whole 78 percent of students would ban racially offensive comments and slurs, while 71 percent would eliminate racially stereotypical costumes. Both of these are protected by the Constitution. So how do we knows what's offensive and whats not?

Free speech is a  foundation to how a democratic society is led and structured. Free speech is a  form of political advertising and debates, allowing voters to get to know candidates for office and their messages. This helps so people can make informed decisions when they vote as to who they want as their president (18). Political speech is one of the most important of all of the types of free speech our Constitution protects.  

Government says social media has done very little to monitor the content its users post. Billions of people post their opinions everyday without realizing the chilling effects of free speech. The ability to create fake content is growing rapidly which deceives people in many ways. Fake things are posted everyday about politics which can make people believe in the wrong things. Social media accounts are being classified as “limited’ or “designated public forums,” which offer fewer protections for citizens’ speech. Social media ia a huge part of politics nowadays. President Joe Biden, tasked with defeating the “digital behemoth” run by Donald Trump, hired a firm to help him connect with social media influencers on Instagram to target a younger demographic.  U.S. Representatives Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Ilhan Omar supported the Biden campaign by arranging an event on Twitter, which was a livestream of the video game Among Us on a broadcasting platform Twitch. This event attracted over 400,000  viewers all over the United States. Cortez talked about healthcare and detective work in space. There was a man running for senator that regularly posted on Tiktok. 

Now think, social injustice is a very popular topic right now in the world. Did you now that freedom of speech and social justice go hand in hand. It has been one of the most essential tools for the advancement of the rights of oppressed minority groups throughout all of American history. These groups achieved progress not through suppressing the free speech of their opponents, but by overcoming and countering their ideas with arguments more consonant with American ideals and the Constitution(Strossen). One of the best examples of free speech for the greater good is Fredrick Douglas.. Douglass’s views on free speech was: “To suppress free speech is a double wrong,” he said. “It violates the rights of the hearer as well as those of the speaker.” Free speech is a big part of social justice and you may not have even known.

Arguments for free speech began with the pursuit of truth: an open-ended inquiry into the greater social good. So what happens if our prevailing forms of speech prevent us from speaking freely, just because they fill us with suspicion or fear? ? You can’t achieve a good society without free speech, like discussions that increase our point of views. Even though people can spread false information with freedom of speech, it helps us to be able to pursue the truth. Everyone has a different opinion on what is bad speech and what is good speech. The definition of crossing either of those lines is unknown.

Freedom of speech is such a complicated subject nobody really knows if we really have freedom of speech. Judgement is everywhere no matter what people say, like with protest similar to Black Lives Matter, government, social justice, and more. Everyone's definition of free speech is different so how can we really know free speech is? So, is freedom of speech really free or will the backlash come crashing down?