What is freedom of speech?

Question

I know what freedom of speech is, but it's appalling how many people think freedom of speech means freedom from social consequences. So here are the questions. I know some idiot with his 12th grade education is going to say something ridiculously racist (because the racists seem to live on here as the one glimmer of hope in their pathetic lives). All others, please answer openly and honestly. And hopefully we can respect each other's answers.

What do you think freedom of speech is?

What kind of world do you think this be if there were no consequences for anything people say?

Why do you think freedom of speech is so widely misinterpreted (usually by the people who make racist comments, or people supporting people making racists comments)?

You all have some great opinions. However, let me clarify that I am not saying racists should not have freedom of speech. I am saying that people don't understand the true meaning of freedom of speech. Here is a brief definition. It hardly covers all aspects but it's a step in the right direction:

the right of people to express their opinions publicly without governmental interference, subject to the laws against libel, incitement to violence or rebellion, etc.

Note: Governmental interference. That doesn't mean that you can't get fired from your job. Kicked out of a restaurant. Thrown off a plane etc.

I brought up racists because I find they are typically the ones who miscontrue the meaning of freedom of speech to protect something stupid they've said.

Hey daffy d.....I don't believe in censorship so get it right!!!

I don't believe racists should be censored. I don't believe terrorists should be censored. I don't believe psychos like you should be censored. I DO believe that people should wake up and stop thinking that freedom of speech means there are no consequences. You are so uneducated it pains me to think of all the trouble you went through to type that message with one finger. All so you can call me a *****!!! You won't get arrested for it though... Now THAT'S free speech!!

Answer 1

Finally somebody with a little education.

You are right freedom of speech is not freedom from consequences from society. It is the freedom for you to express yourself without any consequences from the government. This freedom is only respected by the law as long as it doesn't threat somebody's life or security.

It is impossible to imagine, because it would mean that people don't have emotions.

I think that people are too ignorant at too busy with Hollywood, to pay attention to the real issues that affect their life. In a society that ET is the #1 news cast in the country it leaves a lot to wish for. also it probably has something to do with the fact that being smart is not something cool or popular in our schools.

Answer 2

Freedom of speech, to me, means the right to criticize without fearing retribution, the right to say what you want, no matter how unpopular. There has to be some constraints, however, such as yelling fire in crowded areas or other things that would put people in danger. Freedom of speech is an honor that many other folks around the world do not have and we must not abuse it or take it for granted. The heavy cloud of political correctness that exists in our country today threatens this cherished right , in my opinion, and people are scared to express an opinion for fear of being sued. Lawyers are ruining America!

Answer 3

Stony - GREAT answer. Foster - Liked the last parts...

It is the right to hold a BUSH SUCKS sign in front of the white house as long as you want so long as you don't bother those walking with a barrage of unwanted vocal solicitations. Assuming of course you also do not loiter or make any stupid movements towards the white house or risk giving the secret service a real target or something to worry about. I'M SURE THOSE GUYS DON'T MISS I'D NEVER MESS WITH THEM.

Answer 4

Freedom of Speech includes the right to say something that offends others, including members of designated victim groups. There is an absolute freedom of speech on property that you own or are welcome on. There is also absolute freedom of speech on "public property" (which everybody has the right to use however they wish, because they are an owner of the property; that includes the right to destroy public property, because groups don't have rights).

MSNBC had every right to fire Imus if they desired to do so. The only thing I personally consider wrong was the reason why they fired him. However, Imus could have probably saved his job if he had the courage to stand up to Al Sharpton when he was being verbally abused. The main thing that Imus showed was that this society is still lacking in people who have a strong enough ego to follow their rational self-interest. Imus's guts disappeared as soon as he went on the professional race-baiter's radio show. Had Imus had the guts to stand up for himself, the Political Correctness lobby would have backed off and he'd still be employed. That's how UNLV Economics Professor Hans-Herman Hoppe kept his job after he taught his class about Time Preference by explaining that gay people are less likely to save money because they don't have kids (which led one gay to whine to the leftist administration). Hoppe tolerated a little bit of abuse, but eventually found the courage to stand up to them.

The politically correct lobby are cowards who will back down whenever somebody stands up to them. All statists are. They're dependent on their victim guilt-tripping so they can walk all over him. When it doesn't work and they're stood up to, they back off faster than a government that the people are standing upto.

Answer 5

Freedom of speech is that you have a right to say anything you like no matter how ignorant it may be.

What people forget is that there are consequences

Example: If a child said a cuss word. He has the right to say it, but the mother will in most cases give some form of punishment.

Answer 6

Freedom of speech is the concept of the inherent human right to voice one's opinion publicly without fear of censorship or punishment. The right is preserved in the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights and is granted formal recognition by the laws of most nations. Nonetheless the degree to which the right is upheld in practice varies greatly from one nation to another. In many nations, particularly those with relatively authoritarian forms of government, overt government censorship is enforced. Censorship has also been claimed to occur in other forms (see propaganda model) and there are different approaches to issues such as hate speech, obscenity, and defamation laws even in countries seen as liberal democracies.

Racism is not freedom of speech because it is oppression.

Terrorism is not freedom of speech since it is violence.

Answer 7

I think freedom of speech is starting to come very non exsistant. In the law there is so many fine lines of it. Like I could say i'm going to kill you right now over the phone and be 1000 miles away and the law would say it wasn't applicable given where i was however i say it right in front of you and i could go to jail. I sued a company when i was 18 and in order to get my settlement I had to sign a waiver saying i wouldn't bad mouth them.. I think Freedom of Speech is going into extinction

Answer 8

And here is yet another self proclaimed Constitutional scholar who has not a clue as to the meaning of any of the sections of the Constitution. In order for you to have even the slightest comprehension of the true meanings of this document, you have to place yourself in the mindset of the period of time when the document was originally written. You cannot apply the ramblings of a drug induced Liberal society of 2007 to this most valued document. This document was written in a polite society where if you even entertained the thought of saying the "H" word (as in nappy headed H) {which an educated society would say it as the "W" word} you would immediately have a strap taken to you on the public square. It never ceases to amaze me as to how many Liberals claim to have this document figured out when none of them to date has even come close to getting it right. And for the record, a shocking number of Conservatives are just as ignorant.

Answer 9

I couldn't agree with you more!!!

Imus, for example, wasn't fired because free speech was denied him, he was fired because we all have free speech. You can't use the First Amendment to give him the right to say what he pleases and then deny the rest of us our First Amendment right to protest his words. Ultimately, he was fired because over 100 advertisers backed out of supporting the show. If I was an African-American woman advertising with CBS and heard him make those comments, why should I be pressured to ignore it and continue doing business with him? Free speech doesn't mean you are completely free from consequences, it simply means the government can't throw you in jail for speaking your mind.

The people on this site who say otherwise are cowards and whiners who think they should be able to do whatever they want whenever they want.

Answer 10

I believe freedom of speech is the right to say anything you want, as long as it is not endangering (such as yelling Fire in a public area).

I do belive freedom of speech protects a racists right to voice their opinion. What others often forget is just because someone has the freedom of speech, does not mean we have to listen to them. We have the freedom to ignore them.

For example, the whole recent fiasco with Imus. While I believe he had the right to make his remark, I also believe everyone in America has the right to turn off the radio and refuse to listen to such rubbish. And when everyone turns off the show, advertisers won't buy ad space during it, and the stations cancel the shows for not being profitable.

Another example is rap. While some rap is fine, there are many examples of rap music that are extremly hateful and racists towards different groups. I have absolutely no interest in listening to such rubbish, so I don't. But neither do I try to say they do not have the right to produce such music.

For freedom of speech to work, it must go hand in hand with the freedom to listen or not to listen. And with the freedom to not listen, we as a people determine what is and is not acceptable in society by turning off the things we don't want in our society. The producers and ad agencies will follow our lead, because they want our money.

As for misinterpreting freedom of speech, one must be very careful in limiting any speech that is not endangering simply because you feel it is wrong. After all, who determines what is wrong? There are currently courts in America that are trying to rule "marriage" and "family values" as hate speech. Others are trying to rule out "illegal aliens". When you limit a persons speech in any way, it is easy to slide down the slope into a socialist society where free thought is not allowed.

With freedom of speech, you must allow the comments you agree with and the comments you don't agree with. They way you get rid of what you don't agree with is by getting those that agree with you to tune that side out. We as a society must decide what to listen to and what not to listen to. We decide what is allowed and is not allowed, simply by choosing who we listen to.