When is FREE Speech truly FREE?

2020-01-12T09:40:47-05:00

In recent years there has been a call to impact "FREE" speech to advantage or disadvantage one group or the other using overt or covert means. No where in the world has the right to speak openly been more guaranteed or guarded more jealously.

As we watch the students in Iran lift up their voices in protest against the brutality of zealots in their own government, I am reminded of the many times in history students have entered their voices to the situations of injustice that are all too often characterized in other terms.

https://www.bbc.com/news/av/embed/p0804xwv/51079965

So, the question is simple:

- How do you "personally" know that the speech you are hearing is "FREE", "UNFETTERED" and "RESPONSABLE" is being communicated meeting the 1st Amendment standard of NOT "... being abridged..." in order to promote a given agenda?

This question just might spark some commentary. I am reading a book right now that sparked this question. It, may be too early in my reading of the 439 pg book including the index to ask the question. Bu when a book captures your interest in the 1st pages and you are already underlining and annotating passages it seems a book appropriate to take a risk and ask this kind of question.

Iran plane crash: Protesters condemn 'lies' on downed jet - BBC News

Demonstrators in Tehran vent anger at officials who earlier denied Iran shot down a Ukraine airliner.

Response by SPC Stewart Smith made Jan 12 at 2020 9:51 AM

2020-01-12T09:51:50-05:00

When is free speech truly free?
That is a very good question. I'm not sure if it's ever free. It seems as though we are a country who has been fighting for it for centuries.

Response by Cpl Private RallyPoint Member made Jan 12 at 2020 10:24 AM

2020-01-12T10:24:10-05:00

You'll know speech is free when the government, local, state or federal, isn't attacking you for communicating your opinion or stating controversial facts.

Response by Maj John Bell made Jan 12 at 2020 11:07 AM

2020-01-12T11:07:20-05:00

First, I have a problem with the premise of your question. The "free" speech guaranteed to us by the Constitution is only guaranteed to be free from restrictions and consequences imposed by the GOVERNMENT. That said government most assuredly imposes restrictions on our speech in the name of "overriding government interests." One can be punished by the government for screaming "fire" in a public theater, or calls for imminent commission of criminal acts, or slander/libel.

Furthermore society imposes its own set of social consequences for "free" speech deemed unacceptable in today's society. Use racial epithets, or inappropriate sexual comments to women or children and see what happens.

Then we get to individuals and their determination of what is acceptable. Wear a MAGA hat in the wrong place in town and the consequences run from harassment, to interference in going about your day, having the hat ripped off your head, to being pelted with milkshakes and soft drinks.

Finally, there is no requirement that free speech be "responsible." Who determines what is responsible? That is a road fraught with peril. The problem we have now is that the fringe on both ide of the spectrum have somehow accepted a belief that they have a right to not be offended. To the contrary, the Constitution goes farther than any other document I know in guaranteeing my right to offend anyone I want.

Response by PO3 Phyllis Maynard made Jan 12 at 2020 11:09 AM

2020-01-12T11:09:40-05:00

CPO Nate S. the element of responsibility is very important when determining if it is a matter or hindering free speech or protecting National Security. Many foreign enemies are throwing our own rhetoric (divised out of free speech) back in our faces and are infiltrating our government as elected leaders.

Response by PO3 Phyllis Maynard made Jan 12 at 2020 11:09 AM

2020-01-12T11:09:53-05:00

Response by LCDR Joshua Gillespie made Jan 13 at 2020 12:56 PM

2020-01-13T12:56:35-05:00

In the simplest manner...I presume that until agents of the officially recognized government, be they local, state, or federal...come to fine or incarcerate me for my opinions...I have "freedom of speech". None of that really protects me from being lambasted publicly or privately, losing close friends or family connections, or possibly even my livelihood (should an employer find an "excuse") as a result of the same. The way I see it, the Founders were not trying to create hegemony...they wanted a nation where people could have a voice in how they were governed. This doesn't mean that anything someone says should go unchallenged...or that actions don't have consequences.