...When we think of freedom of speech most only think about that freedom in the instance of people being able to speak, protest or lobby the government. The United States lives by the thought that even a single voice can make a difference if they speak up for what they believe in or if they see something being done that is wrong. In today’s day and age, you see people using their freedom of speech to voice their concern for anything and everything. These same people are very adamant in getting their voice to the right people to gain momentum in righting whatever they deem to be wrong. Furthermore, if you look back to 1791 when Freedom of Speech was added to the U.S. Constitution as part of the Bill of Rights, there is no way that the people back...
Words: 877 - Pages: 4
...Constitutionality of flag burning and my feelings about this symbolic act On June 14, 1777, the United States flag was born in Philadelphia, PA which was the capitol of the United States. As a symbol of the patriot’s idea of the Nation conceived in Liberty, the flag was a sign of freedom and justice in the United States of America. The American flag was sometimes called Old Glory also. Between 1897-1932, forty eight state laws were established for banning the desecrating of the United States flag. Immediately following the civil war, the American Flag was being threatened by at least two fronts. The first was by white southerners that wanted the Confederate flag as the American Flag and the second was by businesses that wanted to use the flag for commercial advertising. In response to these threats, forty eight states passed laws The U. S. Supreme Court’s first ruling on Flag Desecration was in 1907. The statues prohibited the following: marking, defacing, using in commercial advertising, and showing “contempt” by publicly burning, trampling, spitting on, showing lack of respect for the U. S. Flag. In Halter v. Nebraska in 1907, this ruling was upheld by the U. S. Supreme Court as Constitutional. In 1968, a Federal Government Flag Desecration law was passed by Congress due to the incident in Central Park where a peace activist decided to burn an American Flag to protest against the Vietnam War. The law banned anyone that demonstrated “Contempt”...
Words: 809 - Pages: 4
...The Elevation Of Rights Of The Individual Vs. Society And The Community: Moral Coercion The Declaration of Independence states that “all men are created equal, that they are endowed...with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness” (Jefferson, 1). Jefferson’s remark from the Declaration of Independence, implies that every human being deserves to have individual rights such as freedom of speech and freedom of choice. At times, individual rights are sacrificed to benefit the community or society as a whole. In the past, African Americans were viewed upon as “slaves” and the “inferior race”; in particular, they were viewed as inferior by whites. As a result, their freedom of speech was revoked....
Words: 1475 - Pages: 6
...because they had a lack of protection for individual freedoms. They wrote their own essays such as the “Centinel” against the federalist papers and it was to warn about the danger from tyranny. Samuel Bryan, the author of the letters of centinel, wrote: ‘Without presuming upon my own judgment, I cannot think in an unwarrantable presumption to offer my private opinion, and call upon others for their’s…” The Centinel purpose was to include a bill of rights in the new constitution and to adopt those rights. The Antifederalist achieve their goal and the federalists compromise with the bill of rights added to the Constitution. Many people say that the first amendment would not be here without the “intent of the Framers.”. But they did not adopt the first amendment. The Anti-federalist was still scared because the constitution did not really guarantee that the government could take people’s right to worship away. For example, the first amendment does not say that freedoms of speech or press shall not curtail, it only prevents...
Words: 651 - Pages: 3
...in charge of Washington operations after having served as an assistant secretary of defense from the year 1981 to 1985. In this capacity, as the head of Raytheon Washington, Korb was accountable for congressional relations and in direct contact with the government departments especially department of Defense. Korb then brought a lawsuit against Raytheon Corporation that his employment contract was terminated wrongfully based on the evidence produced in court that he wrongly exercised his right of speech; however he claimed that his right of speech was protected by the first amendment to the United States constitution as well as article XVI of Massachusetts declaration of rights. Therefore in regard to his complaints of the Raytheon corporation, together with the ruling court, this paper will analyze and evaluate each case by providing , facts about each case, critical issues and the final ruling, besides an analysis and explanation of the challenges with freedom of speech, freedom of information, challenges with employment law; a discussion of the public perceptions of Raytheon and its influence with the Department of Defense and a discussion of any fraud or misrepresentation on either side of the case. According to the facts of the case Korb v. Raytheon, 707 F. Supp. 63 (D. Mass. 1989), Korb became part of the executive board of Raytheon in December 1985. In February 25 1986, during Korb lunch hour, the company released its annual defense budget, an event that Korb was given...
Words: 1809 - Pages: 8
...Liberty is defined as the freedom to choose to behave, think, speak or simply be present in an area without fear of punishment. In order to properly understand the concept of liberty, it is important to understand the term power because power develops the freedoms that emerge when discussing liberty; power in this instance is the ability to do or act. In most modern states, the state grants citizens the power to legally engage in certain behaviors as long as these are in obedience to their legal system. Liberty is a relative term as liberties in the modern world are granted by states. This disparity can be observed with the contrast of speech liberties in China with Chinese “ firewall,” which bans social media websites like Facebook. When...
Words: 440 - Pages: 2
...of greater freedom of speech, an opinion in opposition to the rest of the court. With “bad tendency” being used to target unpopular ideas and beliefs rather than potentially harmful acts as proving any kind of clear and present danger was a tenuous prospect at best; Holmes’ felt strongly that his test should be the one, and greater protection of speech should be provided. Because of this we see the first pro aspect of the doctrines utilization to protect greater first amendment protections, although one could argue it could come at the cost of American war interests from harmful interference or interruption. Essentially the Court's ruling allowed for the criminalization of all “seditious” speech. Gitlow v. New York was a case that further expanded upon government restriction of free speech but also had a dissenting opinion by Justice Holmes. The bones of the case are that Gitlow when publishing for the Socialist Labor Party utilized anarchist rhetoric advocating the eventual overthrow of the U.S. Government he violated legislation already in place in New York. Ultimately The Court upheld Gitlow's conviction on the basis that the government may suppress or penalize any kind of speech that directly advocates the unlawful overthrow of...
Words: 659 - Pages: 3
...stops the police and other government agents from searching us or our property without "probable cause" to believe that we have committed a crime. Other amendments protect our freedom to make certain decisions about our bodies and our private lives without interference from the government - which includes the public schools.” These rights are very important to citizens in society. Without these rights, each citizen will be suppressed and violated. The rights of the individual should always be upheld. We obviously have far more rights to privacy than the citizens in the book "Matched" by Allie Condie. In the book Matched by Allie Condie, the citizens are forced to contend with a lack of privacy in their society. This lack of privacy is dangerous to society because of certain violations that this can bring; such as inference of the government in our daily lives and restriction of the fundamental rights that we are entitled to. In the book Matched, the government keeps an eye on every citizen. This constant surveillance is evidence of the lack of privacy going on in their society. The issue of lack of privacy is a major one in the story, and it was an issue that America has had to deal with. I cite the Patriot Act as an example. The purpose of this act was to “deter and punish terrorist acts in the United States and around the world, to enhance law enforcement investigatory tools, and for other purposes.” “The Patriot Act allowed federal agents to monitor electronic communications...
Words: 1055 - Pages: 5
...Alexandra Roach Dr. Fiddner PLSC World Politics 101 006 October 8, 2015 Cuban Missile Crisis Analysis Due to the Cold War, in October 1962, tensions were high between the United States and the Soviet Union. The Cuban Missile Crisis began on October 14, 1962. This was by far the most significant event to happen in the Cold War. The Soviets had been using Cuba as a place to set their missiles from which they would be able to launch a nuclear attack at any time on almost anywhere in the Southeastern parts of the United States, this including places like Washington D.C., New York City, New Orleans, and other major cities in the United States. Photographers were able to capture pictures of these missiles with high-altitude U-2 spy planes giving evidence that the missiles were 90 miles off the American costal line. Although it seems as if the Cuban Missile Crisis happened at a blinding pace, this crisis actually was a culmination of a much longer process. In this essay I will be focusing on the events that led up to the terrifying 14 day event of the Cuban Missile Crisis as well as looking at the crisis from an individual level of analysis and from a realist point of view. In order to fully understand the Cuban Missile Crisis, we must first take a look at all of the events that had lead up to the crisis. Among many of the factors leading up to the nuclear standoff between the countries, one of the factors, of course, was the genuine concern of defense of each leader, John...
Words: 2629 - Pages: 11
...Justice John Marshall declared in the landmark case Marbury v. Madison. The content of this statement as the outcome of the 1803 case marked a significant component of our governmental structure, affecting virtually every aspect of American life. The power of judicial review recognized the United States Supreme Court as the Constitutional conscience of our nation, having ability to judge actions at both the state and federal levels. The dispute about the historical legitimacy of this judicial ability remains today, but the relevant question we treat today pertains to its proper practice. In these regards, our founders prescribed that “the Judicial Power of the United States, shall be vested in one Supreme Court” (US Constitution, Art. III. Sec. 2), and that the "Constitution, and the Laws of the United States … shall be the supreme Law of the Land" (Art IV, Sec.2). As we understand it, judicial review must serve to guide the actions affecting the lives of citizens by the standard of the United States Constitution. Judicial review must be exercised with knowledge and prudence, finding a balance between defense of individual rights and national security, judicial restraint and judicial activism, state interests and national incentives. The danger of the grand power of judicial review exists with arbitrary exercise in which the constitutional foundation and protection of constitutional liberties are outweighed by national sentiment or political interests. Throughout history, there have...
Words: 3353 - Pages: 14
...The Bill of Rights, the most celebrated part of the United States Constitution, almost seems like an afterthought. The Constitution, which spelled out the form of the national government and delineated the responsibilities of each branch, was ratified in 1788. Three years later Congress added 10 amendments (the Bill of Rights) that guaranteed individual liberties. This paper will summarize why those amendments were included, and analyze whether the Bill of Rights altered the Constitution or merely strengthened it. The 1780s were a time of triumph and turmoil in America. The decisive American victory at Yorktown in 1781 guaranteed the nation’s independence, confirmed two years later by a peace treaty with England that recognized the new nation. The Bill of Rights is a critical part of the Constitution. When the formatters of the Constitution were creating the document, some believe that the Bill of Rights was not necessary. However after long debate, they agreed that it should be included. The purpose however is to guarantee certain rights not provide them; for example the freedom of speech under the First Amendment. There are limitations and people need to realize that the Constitution does not guarantee free speech. “The Freedom of Speech or known as the First Amendment is one of the most valuable and precious rights guaranteed to Americans in the United States Constitution. At the same time, it is one of the most abused rights by Americans” this is one of the protections...
Words: 3308 - Pages: 14
...An ideal society consists of an organized government, individuality and personal freedom, and class-consciousness. Remy Melina defines an organized government as having an authoritative figure such as a president, ruler, or imperious figure to take control of a country or territory. An organized government is also a system where citizens have freedom of speech, freedom of choice, and have the right to vote for a government and presidential candidates (Melina, Remy). I agree with Melina’s definition of an organized government. An organized government includes a ruler, president, or an authoritative figure. An authoritative ruler prevents chaos from occurring; examples of chaos include war and disagreements in society regarding to civil rights...
Words: 1358 - Pages: 6
...When many British settlers came to the new world, they were searching for the myths associated with that land. These myths commonly fell along the rights and freedoms that had been restricted in England. Along with restrictions on rights, the economic situation in England was dreadful. The masses of poor became homeless and jobless. Such restrictions on rights, like freedom of speech and freedom of religion, along with the obvious disparage between the rich and the poor, caused enough discontempt for masses of people to leave the nation in search for something better. These people heard the myths of the new world, being a land where anyone could become rich and free, and instinctively immigrated. These people, being influenced by the myths...
Words: 1387 - Pages: 6
...charismatic nature and unfaltering authenticity in every single speech defined him as a true leader – one who might finally be able to restore faith in the American presidency in a country perpetually traumatized by the Watergate Scandal. Reagan brought indisputable political beliefs established on a solid sense of conservatism as well as a solid moral code built on firm religious values. These two features that Reagan exemplified laid the groundwork for an administration that was characterized by consistent and unyielding principles. The perfect example of this aspect of his administration is prevalent in his rhetoric. His small anecdotes, perfect word choice, and references to past great leaders all underscored his incredible ability to communicate the successes and lessen the defeats that faced his administration. Through his use of consistent and unique rhetoric from his first major speech in 1964 continued to his farewell speech in 1989, Ronald Reagan established motifs of freedom, limited government, moral renewal, and hope for the future that ultimately rescue American pride in the executive branch and in the country as a whole. In Ronald Reagan’s second inaugural address, which spans just over three pages, he used the word freedom 17 times. He took one of the most complex and hard to achieve concepts in the world and used America’s mastery of it to his advantage. The majority of American citizens loved the freedoms given to us by this bill of rights making it easy for Reagan...
Words: 4643 - Pages: 19
...Does the law of sedition infringe on the rights of freedom of expression and the press? Discuss with appropriate cases and reference Introduction It’s common knowledge that the law legal system is generally based on a precedent. Precedent law is developing under the authority of a legal case according to which a judicial body is obligated to treat similar facts or issues and according to which the law of the state may be changed. In law, sedition is overt conduct, such as speech and organisation that tends towards insurrection against the established order. Article 19 of the UN chatter states that “everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media regardless of frontiers”. This assignment seeks to find (if any) impartiality between the freedom of expression and the law of sedition. Sedition and Freedom of expression and the Press in Nigeria The offence of sedition attempts to strike a balance between Freedom of Expression as enshrined in section 39(1) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) and the security of the state. But, in discussing or criticizing government, a person or the press is allowed to keep his opinions within the limits of fair criticism. What is not permitted is to criticize the government in a malignant manner. For such attacks, by their nature tend to affect the public peace: DPP v. Obi. Therefore...
Words: 3074 - Pages: 13
