Free Speech

The freedom to express opinions and ideas guaranteed by the first amendment is one of the things that makes this country truly amazing. I think freedom of speech is paramount to be considered a free and democratic society. Being able to say what you really think and how you really feel is something that not everyone around the world can say that they have the right to do. However, it's not without its drawbacks. With the freedom to express our thoughts and ideas comes the ability of those with toxic ideologies to have the same freedom. For example, in recent months, we have seen a rise in rallies of white supremacists who exercise their right of free speech and abuse it to spread hate and resentment. Another example is people who use this freedom to spread misinformation about various issues in order to push the specific agenda that they have. I think what it really comes down to is how you choose to respond to ideologies contrary to your own and whether or not you take information at face value and trust it. The first amendment guarantees your right to say what you really think, but too many people forget that while they are free to express their thoughts, they aren't free from the consequences of said expressions. For instance, a man losing his job due to open displays of discriminatory views isn't him losing any freedom, but rather it is the consequence of expressing an ideology contrary to the views of the company that he works for. I think that in our society, we need to remember that there is a need for discretion in the ideas and thoughts that we display. Being called out for saying, for example, something racist, sexist or homophobic isn't you having your freedoms infringed upon, it's just a reaction of others to views that are contrary to what is socially acceptable in the world today. You can piss and moan all you want when people call you out, but that's not going to change anything. Again, you're free to say what you think, but you aren't free from the consequences of what you say. I think too many people fail to take that into consideration before they make use of the rights guaranteed by the first amendment. When talking about freedom of speech, I feel it's necessary to also talk about the concept of censorship. Society is made up of people. People grow, change and evolve, therefore society does the same, and with that changes the bounds of what is considered socially acceptable. Often times censorship is used for the purpose of protecting people from vulgar or hateful content, which isn't necessarily a bad thing, but the bounds of what is considered vulgar is different depending on who you ask. I think that when it comes to adults, as opposed to children whom censorship is used to preserve innocence, there is no need for censorship of any kind because adults can think for critically and determine what they think is or isn't acceptable or in line with their own views. Adults can differentiate between what they believe/know to be true, and what is contrary to that. It all comes down to how we react to views and ideas that we are exposed to. Rejecting hateful or discriminatory rhetoric is just as much of a right as being able to express it. No matter what your views on free speech are, I believe it is the foundation of a free and democratic society, therefore we have to take the good with the bad and take responsibility for researching and determining for ourselves what we see as true and acceptable.