A Child Called It

How would life be if our mouths were taped shut or if we had to be afraid of intimidation and persecution for expressing our opinions? Freedom of speech is the most important right provided by the Bill of Rights. After all, the other rights provided by the Constitution would not be of much value if we could not express our opinions through freedom of speech. Freedom of speech is one of the most fundamental rights that individuals enjoy. Our lives would change dramatically if the Bill of Rights and the Constitution did not guarantee freedom of speech. Everyone would live in fear of being punished for expressing his/her opinion.

What is freedom of speech? Freedom of speech refers to the right to state our thoughts and opinions without fear of punishment or persecution from the government. Amendment I states, "Congress shall make no law abridging the freedom of speech." The word speech in the First Amendment is extended to a generous sense of expression -- verbal, non-verbal, visual, symbolic. Protected expression now includes such non-verbal expression as wearing a symbol on one's clothing, dance movements, and a silent candlelight vigil.

Free speech and thought is a basic human desire, as people want to be able to say what they wish and to express their ideas, desires, and feelings. It is easy to say that everyone should have freedom of speech, but it is just as easy to present reasons for limit freedom of speech. Some people's speech is hateful, violent, and harmful to the harmony of others. It is often easy to convince a majority that certain things should not be allowed to be said. Most would agree that free speech does not include the right to talk about hiring someone to kill, or to endanger others by yelling, "Fire," in a crowded theater just to cause panic. However, most people would also not support the idea that anyone who says something disliked should be silenced, because that would mean free speech only includes the freedom to agree with the current majority. There are still questions about what constitutes speech; what types of speech, if any, are not entitled to protection; and how other interests should be weighed when judging speech. This is a continuing debate that probably will never end. Exceptions established by the courts to the First Amendment protections include the following: defamation, causing panic, fighting words - those which by their very sound inflict injury or tend to incite an immediate breach of the peace, incitement to crime, sedition, and obscenity.

In Tinker vs. Des Moines School District (1969), two students wore armbands to school to protest Vietnam, and they refused to remove them when asked