Joshua Collica

Free Speech and Censorship

Without Free Speech no search for truth is possibleno discovery of truth is
useful...better a thousand fold abuse of free speech than denial of Free Speech. The
abuse dies in a day, but the denial slays the life of the people, and entombs the
hope of the race. -Charles Bradlaugh
What Charles Bradlaugh is trying to say is that the absence of Free Speech in
a country can destroy the people as a whole. There are many occasions that have
proven it to be true: Adolf Hitler, Benito Mussolini, and Raul Castro are only a mere
handful of people who have rejected the right of Free Speech. That is an extremely
harsh crime to commit on a whole country; it can lead to poor economy, intense
hardships, and in extreme cases, death. Herbert Hoover understood the
contradiction of a dictator to perform this horrendous crime, It is a paradox that
every dictator has climbed to power on the ladder of Free Speech. Immediately on
attaining power each dictator has suppressed all Free Speech except his or her
own.
There are those who dont want Free Speech, and simply think its
unconstitutional. For example a small town Gould, Arkansas of 850 people is
banning Freedom of Speech and Freedom of Assembly because, You cant just vote
and violate peoples constitutional rights, said mayor Earnest Nash. Yet Im sure
that most of Americans and Free Speech activists like the Youth International Group
(a.k.a. Yippies) would beg to differ on the subject. A great definition of free speech
is, The right to express any opinion in public without censorship or restraint by the
government, and the corresponding right to experience anybodys expression in
public without censorship or restraint by the government.(anonymous) Some
people say that we shouldnt voice our opinions about our country; well I agree very
strongly with Bill Mahers quote, I do think the patriotic thing to do is to critique my
country. How else do you make a country better but by pointing out its flaws?
Some people devote their lives to Free Speech; they sacrifice everything just
for the chance to bring their country the right of expressing uncensored opinions.
Free Speech is not a privilege; it is a right that all humans, not just Americans,
should have. Salman Rushdie strongly states, Free Speech is the whole thing, the
whole ball game. Free Speech is life itself. Some Americans dont value the right of
Free Speech, some think we can live without the First Amendment. Pat Oliphant
expresses his thought by saying, Youve got to come from somewhere else to
realize how valuable it [Free Speech] is. What he means is most countries dont
have the right of Free Speech; most civilizations dont have any rights. To truly
appreciate Free Speech Mr. Oliphant is saying that you need a background of being

deprived of all rights. I say, thats not at all true. I grew up in America, with the
right of Free Speech, yet I still have full respect and the wisdom to know that to
have a prosperous country you need Free Speech.
Censorship is the act of changing a message, including the act of deletion,
between the sender and the receiver, without the senders or receiver's consent and
knowledge. This is a great definition of Censorship by an anonymous author. The
horror of censorship never ends. It will never end until the only book anyone will be
allowed to read is the one no one will want to read. If the Government continues to
input their censorship it will only act as kindling to the fire of rebellion. The only
thing Censorship shows is that the Government is scared of the magic created in
peoples art, words, and voice. Many people have great ideas that could make life
so much better yet it is rejected before it even sees the light of day. I say, if you
dont like something walk away, change the channel, or plug your ears. DO NOT
take it out on everybody else who might enjoy what he or she is saying.
There are no walls, there are no bolts, no locks that anyone can put on your
mind. This is a quote from The Diary of Anne Frank, in my opinion what the
character in this play is saying is that only you can control your actions. You might
let others influence or guide you, but they wont gain authority in your mind. That is
what the every government or dictator is trying to achieve, dominion over your
mind. They are trying to rid the world of bad or evil shows, books, art, etc., yet
what they think is bad compared to you, me, or the person sitting next to you is
completely different. You might enjoy a classic comedy or a thriller; but what if they
werent allowed, or better yet no movies or television shows at all. No books? No
art? No way to express your feeling at all in the world? How would different would
your life be today? You would have no channel for your thoughts, questions, and
talents; the world would be bland and dismal. The world should be consumed with
art and dispute not rigidity and violence. The US constitution's First Amendment
rights only cover Americans, but I believe that in a democracy the competition of
ideas and free speech should combat beliefs that it does not agree with - more
speech and debate, not censorship.
Censorship defeats itself in the end, Everyone has an opinion, and the guy
screaming for censorship may be the next guy to have his ideas cut off, stated by
Richard King. The worst type of censorship is self censorship, that is where you hush
your own beliefs out of fear of the government. It destroys the character, it will
make you alter your thoughts, words, and work because of your own foolish
cowardice.
As you many now realize the First Amendment has had a huge impact on the
world. Without Free Speech the colored would still be lower than the whites, the
American colonies would not have been founded, and Martin Luther King Jr. would
have never had a dream. These are only a minute list of events that have changed
the course of events throughout history all because of our God given right, Free
Speech.