In out last class discussion on freedom of speech, we defined the freedom. While I had a brief knowledge of the freedom as we as U.S. citizens are entitled to, there were a couple points I was not so familiar with. For instance, the different categories of speech that there are restrictions on. The focus of the discussion was of the types of “speech” which are not protected by the First Amendment. These include obscenity, fighting words, defamation, perjury, child pornography, etc. I believe that when individuals find out that our freedom of speech isn’t entirely “free”, the attitude that accompanies this revelation is negative. The individual most likely feels betrayed by the government. I have come across a number of people like this. They believe that we are living in the illusion of freedom, and the freedom does not actually exist.
My thoughts on the topic kind of go along with some of the things mentioned in our class discussion. Whatever restrictions that are placed on our freedoms are for our own safety and well-being, as well as for our nation. I personally would not want to be the victim of hate speech or defamation. Such assaults could potentially alter my life path, and therefore my mental health.
Unfortunately, my opinions about other countries are not the same. For instance, in Singapore, even though the jurisdiction has granted freedom of speech to the people, but is not completely implemented. The people cannot talk about political issues, along with the media. This is clearly just a government tool in keeping the people from influencing governmental issues. If controversial policies are brought to the attention of the people, the government would have a large oppression on their power. This somewhat coincides with the chapter we read for the discussion. There are many countries which have restrictions on a number of freedoms, and it is pretty clear that it will be a long, if ever, the people of the world will be as fortunate as we are today.
http://www.helium.com/items/1129763-freedom-of-speech-in-singapore
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I like how you talk about the fact that our freedom of speech is not necessarily "free", we cannot just say what we want. While that may be disillusioning to some people it is just another example of the common idea that with freedom there comes responsibility. We need to be held responsible for what we say and how we use our freedoms. When you think about it, we have a lot of freedoms compared to people who live in countries such as Singapore. Luckily we can talk about politics and government and that area is one of the most important areas of free speech.
ReplyDeleteHey Cynthia,
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed reading your post. I think you made a good point when you said that the attitute that goes along with thinking that we dont have a true freedom of speach is usually a negative one. I never took the time to realize that when people spoke. I liked how you backed up that point by talking about how most of the restrictions are for our safety and well-being.