Argumentative Essay: Freedom In The United States Today

Not every citizen has always enjoyed the right of freedom of speech. In Gulliver’s Travels, a highly debated book, the author Jonathan Swift, was accused of using too much satire to speak out against the English government and society. Satire is “the use of irony, sarcasm, ridicule, or the like, in exposing, denouncing, or deriding vice, folly, etc.” (Dictionary.reference.com).

Freedom of speech is one of the corner stones of American society and is defended vigorously. One huge reason of this defense is the argument where if one small part of freedom of speech is violated or diminished, eventually that will be enough grounds to essentially ban freedom of speech outright. The Slippery Slope. This argument is, at its core, a broad assumption and can be refuted. For one, it is possible for a government to reduce the freedom of speech and go no further, usually due to reasons where what you say could threaten national security and the public welfare in general.

Since, it isn’t justified for America to give us this right of speech, when they knock us down for using it. The Black Lives Matter Movement is proof of this, they protest over and over but the government doesn’t want to take responsibility or change for the better of the community. As a community we need to see actions taking place, not only just words. I think they are right for opposing the dominant culture, since it is going to take a lot of work for America to socially change, and we have stick up for what we believe in or them would never been any change in America. America has become a better nation with time, protests and the power of a counter culture always existing to fight for equality, no matter the gender and race.

Freedom of speech is one of the many essential core values that The United States of America was founded on. The United States Constitution and Bill of Rights prohibits the United States government from making laws which may infringe on our natural right to free speech. Without free speech, our generation and future generations alike would lack intellectual vitality. Being exposed to different ideas and beliefs is necessary for people to be able to formulate their own personal beliefs. Taking away or limiting free speech would be living life fearing that you will express an unpopular opinion in the eyes of certain people.

Freedom of Speech Freedom of speech is the freedom all people have, to express what they consider and express any opinions. It is an ability to express our opinions freely without being punished or censored. All people throughout the world are entitled and must have right to freedom of speech. However, how much do we know about freedom of speech: when did it occur? Does every countries have it?

The Fourth Amendment is no unreasonable searches and seizures without a warrant, and the right to privacy. I believe this amendment is crucial because without it law enforcement would be able to just walk into our homes unannounced. Take what they wanted and leave. The Eighth Amendments is no cruel or unusual punishment. I think this one is pretty self-explanatory for why it is important. Torture shouldn’t be used as a method of interrogation or as a form of punishment because it’s morally wrong. Same goes for people on death row, their execution should be as humane as possible. The Thirteenth Amendment abolishes slavery and gives congress the power to enforce abolition through legislation. This is another amendment that is pretty self-explanatory

The First Amendment to the United States Constitution states “Congress shall make no law…abridging the freedom of speech”. Some people in today’s time would argue the first amendment is one of the most important listed in the Bill of Rights. Many forms of speech are protected by the first amendment that one wouldn’t think would be such as flag burning and “adult videos”. Over the years there have been many different court cases that have debated and fought the forms of speech that are protected. Many people in society treat speech differently and this is given in the United States because there are such diverse groups throughout the nation.

“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.”

Civil liberties are rights guaranteed to citizens in the Constitution that the government cannot interfere with, however, in the name of national security, they do. The government sometimes finds it necessary for Americans to give up some of their basic rights to keep the nation protected, but many people find this unnecessary. A law-abiding citizen’s extremely personal information should not be essential to finding terroristic threats within this society. Under no circumstances should an American citizen’s civil liberties be violated in a time of war or crisis, because those are assured rights that are most valuable to their freedom during national conflicts.

The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects against unreasonable searches and seizures shall not be violated… We all know the fourth amendment. It's the amendment that guarantees our safety within our homes and our personal belongings. Yet, how much do you know about the fourth amendment? The fourth amendment is full of history, controversy, and discussion, even in modern day.

Howard Zinn famously once said: “The First Amendment is whatever the cop on the beat says it is.” Zinn’s words may have best been exemplified in Ferguson, Missouri, in the aftermath of the Michael Brown shooting. The First Amendment states that no law shall be made “abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble” (U.S. Constitution). Yet in Ferguson, protesters were confronted by police officers carrying military-grade equipment, and reporters were arrested while simply doing their job. Zinn appears to have been right; at least temporarily, the rights an American has under the First Amendment are whatever the cop on the beat says they are.

People may say it’s eliminates our freedom of speech, but some people take advantage of that freedom and should have at least some limitation for what is said on the internet. According to David French, from the National Review, he states,“...freedom of speech does not mean a blanket permission to say anything...it means balancing the inherent value of a given view with the obligation to ensure that other members of a given community can participate”(French). In other words, everyone should express their opinion but in a mannerly style, and that all points of view should be apprehended for everyone’s individual opinion. Censorship’s part in our society is to protect the minds of the public to prevent the violent and traumatization it can

Your rights might not be protected as you think. Specifically, the 4th Amendment has been failing its promises to the country and its citizens. The 4th Amendment protects citizens from illegal searches, but is frequently violated by the police, FBI, CIA, etc. It’s hard to imagine law enforcers to break the law, but it is very possible and has ruined the lives of two people.

1.0 INTRODUCTION In the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), freedom of speech falls under the Article 19 which is the freedom of opinion and expression. It protects one’s freedom ‘to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers’ (The United Nations, 1948). Article 19(2) of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) adds that the freedom of expression could be ‘either orally, in writing or in print, in the form of art, or through any other media of his choice’. Besides being an individual’s fundamental liberty of expression, Santa Clara University School of Law Professor Russell W. Galloway (1991) states that free speech is the ‘matrix of all other freedoms’.

America is a big superpower, a force to be reckoned with, and a corporate country. America is built upon freedom and money just like anywhere else. But with the way I think that were going, that’s the only thing America will be in the future. And the American dollar will be worth less and less, and the economy will crash more and more. Like I said earlier America is a corporate country based upon cash.