Free Speech -- The First Amendment

When you think about America, the first thing that comes to mind is liberty. Liberty of the government and its citizens is one thing that colonists exceedingly desired during the British oppressive regime. When United States gained independence, the Founding Fathers drafted the Constitution of the Unites States, a document that has been governing our country for more than 200 years. The constitution was drafted accordingly to ensure that people’s opinions were heard. What our Founding Fathers could not foresee is that in our 21st century, The Freedom of Speech not only gives a person such a massive power, but also an opinion even if it is immoral and goes against citizens’ values. Thesis statement The First Amendment is the right that has been belonging to people since the birth. When we think about freedom of speech, we tend to remember the protester who expressed his opinion through burning the United States flag or about journalists who exposed a corrupt official. But now the trend is to use the First Amendment to release hatred and worshiping mindsets that go against society’s values and morals. Background, History In the United States of America, the First Amendment is one of the things that distinguishes us from any other nations. The First Amendment guarantees the absolute freedom of speech, freedom of press, freedom to exercise any religion and freedom to assemble. In many countries,the press gets censored and people who publicly express their opinion end up in the jail. In our country, however, political speech is protected and any citizen can sue an other if one feels his or her opinion is suppressed. The Westboro Baptist Church, Neo-Nazi, Neo- Klu Klux Klan, and many others emerged as groups that invoke and in... ... on Corporate Speech, the Press Is a Problem." New York Times 8 Feb. 2011: A12(L). Student Resource Center - Gold. Web. 8 Mar. 2011. Document URL†¨http://find.galegroup.com/gps/infomark.do?&contentSet=IAC-Documents&type=retrieve&tabID=T004&prodId=IPS&docId=A248547954&source=gale&srcprod=SRCG&userGroupName=moun43602&version=1.0 Welch, Matt. "The 'costs' of free speech: consequentialism and the First Amendment don't mix." Reason July 2010: 2+. Student Resource Center - Gold. Web. 3 Mar. 2011. Document URL http://find.galegroup.com/gps/infomark.do?&contentSet=IAC-Documents&type=retrieve&tabID=T003&prodId=IPS&docId=A227945164&source=gale&srcprod=SRCG&userGroupName=moun43602&version=1.0 Lawver, Bryan. "Laws Do Not Prevent Hate Speech." The Globe. 27 Apr. 2010. Web. 05 Apr. 2011. .