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No, this is one of the problems we have in society today is this misunderstanding of Freedom of Speech Freedom of speech is the right to articulate one's opin
by syshum 9y ago
No, this is one of the problems we have in society today is this misunderstanding of Freedom of Speech
Freedom of speech is the right to articulate one's opinions and ideas without fear of government retaliation or censorship, or societal sanction
Not just from government censorship, but from SOCIETY censorship as well
Governments, at least Western Government, are a reflection of society in general often delayed by a generation or so. As such if society deems fit to Censor something often that translates into the government censoring the same thing just a few year later.
We must be always mindful of threats to free speech not just from government but from society at large.
It is incumbent upon everyone to respect everyone else's freedom of expression, individually
- drewbuschhorn 9y agoWho's tradition are you using for that society argument? It sounds like a facile reading of Mills, without ever going to the back half where he talks about valid reasons for a society to put pressure on an individual, but I've been more on the Federalist papers this year for obvious reasons.
- meddlepal 9y agoFoS so far as the U.S. Constitution defines it has nothing to do with society. It's all about government.
- syshum 9y agoI fail to understand what the US Constitution has to do with this conversation. The US Constitution is a document that outlines what powers the people of the US have granted to the Federal government, it has no bearing on what I am talking about
- meddlepal 9y agoUh... Amendment #1 deals with FoS. Sentences 2 and 3 of your post talk about Government AND Society. The first amendment doesn't give a rat's ass about what society thinks. Its a restriction only on the government.
- xorfish 9y agoFreedom of Speech is a principle. It has a value on it's own. I wish more people would see that.
- sbmassey 9y agoYou are the one that brought up the US constitution, the OP was talking about freedom of speech as a principle. It is hardly surprising that the US constitution would only apply FoS to the government, since that is what it is trying to define, but the principle of FoS can apply to society as much as anything else.