Essay About Freedom of Speech
What exactly is the Freedom of Speech? This is the right to express any opinions without censorship or restraint. In conclusion it allows us to say anything we want, however we want as long it does not intend violence which is a violation of the First Amendment. I will address my opinion on how the Freedom of Speech is applied in different situations and how it has stood the test of time.
The Freedom of Speech can apply to many situations and ways such as being a public speaker. With public speakers, they are protected the right to speak freely to communities, crowds, etc. For Example, Richard Spencer, a white nationalist who has traveled around the world on a controversial “alt-right” tour. He has attended many speeches in which he was allowed to speak at due to the aid of the First Amendment. He was banned from a majority of Europe and Great Britain due to their opinion of his speeches “fostering hatred”. The American Free Speech tradition holds strongly that hate speech is protected, unless it intends a form of violence to a group or a person.
Although the Freedom of Speech can protect our rights in almost every way possible, there are some insufficiencies with a common exception. Within private companies, it is very much true that the First Amendment does not apply within a private company. An example of this is James Damore who was a former employee at Google and was criticized for arguing that biological differences between men and women are responsible for tech’s gender gap. Google stated that he violated company policy about promoting gender stereotypes. Damore claims that he has a legal right to express his views and he is going to fight the dismissal. Lee Rowland knows how the First Amendment plays in these cases and he states, ”The First Amendment really only acts as a restraint on government. In fact, the first few words of the First Amendment are: Congress shall make no law restricting freedom of speech or of the press of religion”.
There is a way that the speech within private institutions can be regulated. For example, just because someone works for you and you dislike them because of their skin color, it can be argued that it is illegal because that person is being discriminated. If it is an act of discrimination or pure hatred for another person its an offense towards that person and you can be charged for that in this case. It is important to note that that person must have committed something that would harm the company in which case it is not against the company and only against the employee.
The Freedom of Speech is a reliable source without the limits from government institutions and it has stood the test of time. The Freedom of Speech has its flaws but when it comes to private institutions this Amendment does not protect the individual. Your freedom of speech is protected from the First Amendment and shall be protected from the government forever.
