Let's Talk About Freedom of Speech.

Obviously this is about the 1st Amendment to the US Constitution. It covers several aspects of American life but one of those aspect seems to be misunderstood. That being freedom of speech. Many see this as being able to say whatever they want whenever they want. This is not the intent of the 1st. It is in place to prevent the GOVERNMENT from passing legislation and/or implementing any action that would limit the citizens right to free speech:

The First Amendment (Amendment I) to the United States Constitution is part of the Bill of Rights. The amendment prohibits the making of any law respecting an establishment of religion, impeding the free exercise of religion, abridging the freedom of speech, infringing on the freedom of the press, interfering with the right to peaceably assemble or prohibiting the petitioning for a governmental redress of grievances.

Originally, the First Amendment applied only to laws enacted by the Congress. However, starting with Gitlow v. New York, the Supreme Court has applied the First Amendment to each state. This was done through the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. The Court has also recognized a series of exceptions to provisions protecting the freedom of speech.

en.wikipedia.org...

Any entity that is not the government has the right to limit what is said in their domain. Private citizens. Corporations. Etc. That is not an infringement against the 1st as they are not the government. I hope this sheds some light on this issue.

Very true and most people don't realize that not all words are protected under the 1st amendment, such as fighting words, defamation, or obscenities.

You can't just say whatever you want to.

It is worth mentioning that speech is not only protected in the constitution, but in all of the constitutions of the states and commonwealths. The clauses in the state constitutions are usually way more specific and go even further in protecting speech than the general compact does.

Exept when the Secret Service says it isn't.

I know. I know. This was a one line post.

Originally posted by Brandon88
Very true and most people don't realize that not all words are protected under the 1st amendment, such as fighting words, defamation, or obscenities.

You can't just say whatever you want to.

edit on 25-3-2012 by Brandon88 because: (no reason given)

Ahhh but you can say what you want. The US constitution is all but toilet paper now. So I say, if the government are trying to take your bill of rights away then everything is open season.

I say what I want all the time. A spade is a spade. Just like a disabled person is still a spastic even though it is now not PC to call them that..in the UK...they even changed the Charity name some years back from the Spastic Society to SCOPE. I still say the spastic society.

it is what is is. Do you think black people really like being called black?? After all they are really brown or dark brown. People from pakistan and india are brown and in Canada white people call them brown people and they don't like it.

We all use the term Black people or white people....and its exceptable....but you call a Chinese person a yellow person and they look at you like you just touched their mother.

Speech is all about the current times and the interpretation of the group you are referring too.

So, the 1st amendment is void and bs anyway and it was written by people who "thought" they were great thinkers and scholars but really they are no different from the idiots now-a-days who try to change things to suit societies "needs".

Let people say what they want is my vote. Words are just that....WORDS. too many sissified people now-a-days who lead with feelings and heart well before their minds.

reply to post by Six6Six


I prefer being called BLACK than the N-word, COON or any other derogatory term(which btw I've never been called or heard in or out of the work place...but let me here anyone say that then they will have some serious dental issues.

There is nothing wrong with the term Negro(I myself being a beautiful light caramel brown) ...it literally means BLACK which describes the color of over 90% of the people in my ethnicity.

My people are from North-Eastern Africa/Egypt (which btw AFRICA is the birthplace of ALL HUMANS) where you will see Egyptians of all colors.