Free or Not So Free Speech

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What does free speech mean to you?
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Free or not so free speech:

Free speech? What a crock. There is nothing free in life and speech is no different. I remember back in the sixties, when" Hell no we won't go" actually meant something. Now a days kids say that, when it's bedtime. In order for anything to mean something it has to be fought for, it has to be earned, it has to actually affect your life on a personal level.

Exactly what does free speech mean to you? Does it mean that you can express yourself freely and without regard to others? Does it mean that you can say anything about anyone? Both of those are bad examples, free speech as our founding fathers meant it to be was all about freedom. The freedom to hold your own beliefs, to follow your religion and to find your political ideals.

"We hold these truths to be self-evident" is the preceding statement for some of our nation's greatest beliefs. And yet, when confronted with a self-evident truth it is shockingly easy to disregard it. The same people who signed the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of the United States of America did not include everyone in that freedom.

Can we find free speech in history books? Alexander Graham Bell invented the telephone. Marconi invented the radio. Edison invented light bulb. Each of these are taught to our children. Each of these are held to be hard and fast truths. The skeptical man who rereads history with an open mind, will in fact, find these are all lies. Nikolai Tesla was in fact, the inventor of the telephone, the radio and the light bulb.

How much free speech do we have left today? I can remember a time and in fact, I can remember demonstrating against the fact that big brother was watching and the government satellite and monitoring agencies should be disbanded and left to rot. Personal freedom was a highly fought over issue during the last century. That all changed at 911. Homeland security became of paramount importance and America has never seen its like since the days of Senator McCarthy. Since that act of terrorism, no argument that the government is being too invasive has held sway.

Do we really know what free speech is? It is obvious from the lives we currently live, the truths we hold to be self-evident, the history we know to be true and the paranoia we are the victim of, that we as a people no longer truly understand the meaning or the privilege of free speech.

The Internet is a worldwide conglomeration of computers and in such a conglomeration. We have an unprecedented freedom of speech. Now this may not necessarily be a good thing. We find all the time that there are predators online, in fact entire TV shows are dedicated to it. These predators include terrorists, criminals, pedophiles and militarists. The terms of free speech would by definition seem to include these predators.

Hopefully, that gave you in gut wrenching start. For after all, these are some of the worst examples of our kind. So we find that everyone has ideas on where free speech stop. Jerry Springer, and the Jerry Springer show may be considered the ultimate in free speech. For after all, do not people on exactly the opposite sides of issue go there to vindicate their opinions and views. Jerry Springer himself has stated where he believes free speech should end. He believes, and has stated that you are free to hold your own opinions and values, but he does not believe that you should be allowed to teach them to your children.

Let me draw a corollary for you. Gun-control is also a major issue in this country. Everyone in the United States believes in gun-control. The problem with this issue is that not everyone agrees on the same definition of gun-control. One definition stipulates that controlling guns means that only the police should have them. On the flip side of the coin, gun-control is defined as hitting what you aim at.

So where do we draw the line for free speech? Honestly, if I knew I'd run for president. Freedom of speech, freedom of action and freedom of belief are issues that we have to face individually. When we as individuals have determined the limits that we would set on speech, action and belief, then we may bond with like-minded individuals and achieve a superiority of political power.

In summation we are not interested in free speech for everyone on everything, nor do we wish to allow others to have freedom of actions that limit ours. We wish to establish and maintain an environment that allows us our particular version of Free speech. We try to contain the environ with in the confines of these pages in order to not limit others freedoms in what to read, write or believe. Much as in the example with Nikolai Tesla those who wish to find us and expand their minds will.

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AnonymousAnonymousabout 11 years ago
It ends where it ends.

First, I assume you speak of the right to free speech. Rights are abstract things that evade firm definition. Another great American thinker, Supreme Court Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes once said, "But for legal purposes a right is only the hypostasis of a prophesy--the imagination of a sustance supporting the fact that the public force will be brought to bear upon those who do things said to contravene it." He meant that a "right" is just an axiom presumed from a prediction of consequences. Basically, if I am a government, and I begin dumping horseshit on the heads of my citizens every day, they are likely to rise against me or take some other action to prevent my shit-dumping. Their right not to have horseshit dumped on their heads only arises from my understanding of what will happen if I am to do so. So, the right to free speech ends where we let it. Our government works in interacting social interests (flawed because the wealthy possess a pretty disproportionately large influence). If you are not satisfied with the degree to which you are able to express yourself, find a way to influence the political process. Join a movement, campaign and what not. But, understand that arguing over the bounds of rights on an inherent level is a pointless task. It may be fun, but no more.

rubricarubricaabout 11 years ago
good points

I'm not sure when you posted this, it's not showing the date as I write this, but much of what you say makes sense. On the issue of gun control, I find that while I don't like the idea of kids shooting other kids, or some psycho idiot with a gun trying to get revenge, I think it's very wrong to take away our right to have weapons if we so choose. What if I needed something to protect myself. Yeah, they always make the statements of, "if you're not trained, you'll just end up hurting yourself"...well you know what, I'll take that chance. And not that I'm going to get a weapon right now, but if I wanted to and my background is clean, why should people be given the 3rd degree. I was always taught, and this is what was successful about WW2, that whoever holds the weapons holds the power, so taking away people's rights for weapons is trying to strip them of that power. The secret police and the various forms of it through-out history, every culture seems to have one just about.The senators of Rome were often conspiring against each other for power (and not just to kill Caesar). I'm not the biggest history buff, as I prefer fantasy literature myself over reality, but I'd like to think I've still studied my fair share of "history".

My biggest problem with free speech is not so much that people shouldn't be allowed to express themselves, but when people don't like you, for whatever reason & decide that they'd rather try and silence you, instead of just letting you go about your business, but instead decide to flame you and harass you, in only the way the internet seems to provide. Would this type of harassment exist in person (what was once only one or two bullies has become lots of bullies), so it can be tough to defend against something you can't even see, at most usually it's just one person who might not want you to speak your mind. Several people are right that no one has to listen if they don't want, they can ignore it, turn the page, or go to something else.

sacksackalmost 19 years ago
very informative...

and thanks for sharing this!

AnonymousAnonymousalmost 19 years ago
Hate to burst your bubble

Hate to burst your bubble but it was Antonio Meucci an Italian inventor that first invented the telephone in 1849 and it was officially credited by the US House of Representatives somewhere in 2002. Nikolai developed the 'telephone repeater' in 1881 while was being employed in Yugoslav as an engineer

angelicminxangelicminxalmost 19 years ago
Hmm...

Food for thought.

"Nikolai Tesla was in fact, the inventor of the telephone, the radio and the light bulb." Really? I guess I have some research to do, unless you'd like to help me out and send me your resources?

I have noticed the ever changing history book. Be careful, children, what is "history" today may be a figment of your imagination tomorrow, as things are white washed or erased altogether. I do not have current facts at my disposal to back up that statement, which is why I seldom make that argument, but I'm sure I can find them if needed.

Nice job! ~Minx

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