Freedom of Speech
March 31, 2008 by reginarumford
What is freedom of speech? In the United States Constitution under the First Amendment: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. What does this mean to you as a blogger? This does not mean that you have the right to say anything without consequences. Evaluate your thoughts before you make them global. The Internet is not something you can hide behind and flippantly cock your head and shrug you shoulder in a sign of arrogance. You must take precautions and put the appropriate time needed before posting. First, we need to break down what freedom means.
- The condition of being free of restraints.
- Liberty of the person from slavery, detention, or oppression.
- Political independence.
- Exemption from the arbitrary exercise of authority in the performance of a specific action; civil liberty: freedom of assembly.
- The right to unrestricted use; full access: was given the freedom of their research facilities.
- The capacity to exercise choice; free will: We have the freedom to do as we please all afternoon.
Definitions were used from dictionary.com
So, what does freedom mean to you? How does this relate to you as a blogger? Take the time to evaluate your definition of freedom and how it relates to you and the Internet. Post your answer on your blog. However, personal comments are welcome.
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Ms. Rumford, I liked the way in which you tied up history class with Blogging. Freedom of speech is a very important right people should know about. Not only because of its benefits but also because of the restrictions it has. Freedom of speech gives us the liberty to say what we believe in a respectful, and in a unprovocative way. As a bloogger this means that basically no one can stop you from writing what you believe in moderation. In real life what you say is public but not as much as in the internet. I will put it this way if you put something in the internet you can track it down.
Freedom of speech to me is saying whatever you truly think. Not what everyone expects and wants you to say or what you think will get you the most success; but what you truly think deep in your heart about a topic or an answer. Freedom is being able to express your thoughts without any repercussion. Of course that you would try to avoid offending someone in an inner way such as their religion, which would lead you to offend the whole religious followers (that wouldn’t be good). I think that you should be free to say whatever you want and other people should have to listen to you if it is not offending you in any way. I think that using the first amendment could protect you from a law suit but it would be a very grayish area to decide in. Many people are afraid to say things in the world, from students in school to grownups at work, because of people mocking them or strongly offending them. The definition of freedom of speech is the right of people to express their opinions publicly without governmental interference, subject to the laws against libel, incitement to violence or rebellion, etc. This really tells us what is included in freedom of speech to see if there are any limits which we can see there aren´t.