Pros and Cons of Freedom of Speech in America

Pros and Cons of Freedom of Speech in America

PROS

CONS

People can hear new opinions other than their own and become more productive

Lets people know which opinions are the majority

You can let your opinions be heard without much fear of repercussions

People have the right to have their opinions heard and considered. This guarantees that all opinions can be taken into account. It is democratic. It allows us to know what opinions are in the minority and which are in the majority. It can tell us things which we had not thought of. It avoids elitism.

Groups against gays, lesbians, races, ethnic groups, and even religious groups are able to speak against them and hurt people.

People are stretching the freedom of speech

People can get offended by some views other people are being able to say using the freedom of speech

It means that offensive views are considered. It allows minorities to be marginalised. It can incite people to extremism. Powerful orators can sway moderate people. It can encourage racism. It can influence young people to develop extreme opinions.

Definition, Freedom of Speech:

1.The right to speak without censorship or restraint by the government. Freedom of speech is protected by the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

Reason: 1. a basis or cause, as for some belief, action, fact, event, 2. a statement presented in justification or explanation of a belief or action. 3. the mental powers concerned with forming conclusions, judgments, or inferences. 4. sound judgment; good sense. 5. normal or sound powers of mind; sanity.

Rules

1. First round is for acceptance only and you may present a small opening argument. (as I have done above.) 2. Semantics and ignoring the intention of the debate will be ignored. 3. No new arguments in the final round. 4. Forfeiting any round results in an automatic 7 point loss. 5. Please review the definitions provided. No new ones will be accepted in the following rounds. By accepting this debate, you accept the definitions.

What does Freedom of Speech include?

Freedom of speech includes the right: 1. Not to speak (specifically, the right not to salute the flag). 2. Of students to wear black armbands to school to protest a war ("Students do not shed their constitutional rights at the schoolhouse gate."). 3. To use certain offensive words and phrases to convey political messages. 4. To contribute money (under certain circumstances) to political campaigns. 5. To advertise commercial products and professional services (with some restrictions). 6. To engage in symbolic speech, (e.g., burning the flag in protest). Freedom of speech does not include the right: 1. To incite actions that would harm others (e.g., "[S]hout[ing] `fire' in a crowded theater."). 2. To make or distribute obscene materials. 3. To burn draft cards as an anti-war protest. 4. To permit students to print articles in a school newspaper over the objections of the school administration. 5. Of students to make an obscene speech at a school-sponsored event. 6. Of students to advocate illegal drug use at a school-sponsored event.

Freedom of Speech in Schools

The General Rule: Student Speech is Protected by the First Amendment The public schools are charged with teaching students not only reading, writing and arithmetic, but also with providing students with a working knowledge of their Constitution and the freedoms they

uniquely possess as U.S. citizens. The Supreme Court has often referred to the public schools as a "marketplace of ideas" where the protections of the First Amendment are particularly important. "The vigilant protection of constitutional freedoms is nowhere more vital than in the community of American schools."iv The seminal case involving student free speech rights is Tinker v. Des Moines Independent School District, decided by the Supreme Court in 1969.vThe Tinker case arose during the height of the Vietnam war when a group of public high school and elementary school students were suspended for wearing black arm bands to school to protest the war. School officials discovered the plan prior to the day the students intended to wear the arm bands and forbade the students from wearing them, ostensibly fearing that the demonstration would cause a disturbance. The students defied this prohibition, and, although only a few students objected to the arm bands, school officials suspended them. The Supreme Court held that the suspensions violated the students' First Amendment rights. The Court first clarified that public school students, no less than any other citizens, were entitled to the protections of the First Amendment. "It can hardly be argued that either teachers or students shed their constitutional rights to free speech or expression at the schoolhouse gate."vi The Court rejected school officials' claims that the prohibitions on the arm bands were permissible because of the possibility that they might cause a disruption, noting that although a few students made hostile remarks about the armbands outside the classrooms, there were no threats or acts of violence that disrupted the learning environment. The Court held that absent such evidence of disruption or interference with the rights of others, the suspensions violated the First Amendment.

Exceptions to the General Rule: Student Speech That May be Restricted: Tinker was the high water mark for student First Amendment rights. In the decades since Tinker was decided, decisions by the Supreme Court and lower courts have chipped away at Tinker's broad protection of student speech. Nevertheless, these exceptions have not swallowed Tinker's general rule. Outside the few instances listed below, the First Amendment continues to provide protection for students

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