Blog Responses
In what ways are First Amendment freedoms important beyond our borders and how as a country should we support them?
First amendment freedoms are important beyond our borders in the sense that they support the equality and justice of all people. Within our specific democracy, and within other democracies as well, this is not quite the case. Equality and justice are not always found. Yet when it comes to supporting them and vocalizing them within our foreign policy, I believe that we should first look at the flaws within our own democracy and how some of the First Amendment freedoms may be belittled by corporate capitalism within the government before we go on as a nation to proclaim that our government is the end all be all when it comes to an ideal way of living.
We can support equality and the values surrounding the First Amendment freedoms through diplomacy, and specifically through the United Nations. The U.N may not be the ultimate authority when it comes to international policy, it may indeed by the U.S and other influential countries, but I think the U.N is the current forum that needs to be utilized the most to create world equality and justice. If the U.S acts on it’s own, we don’t have the checks and balances system that the U.N has put in place.
What should the rules around free speech be?
I’m pretty much along the lines with the U.S Supreme Court System when it comes to Freedom of Speech. Incriminating, hateful, and violence invoking speech should be restricted. I find this to be a very non-radical point of view. I think the Freedom of Press should be reigned in because the press gives out a lot of false information.
How do you experience free speech in your everyday life?
If there was no free speech today...I would not be able to go on the internet and read about young women who are changing the world through activism. I wouldn’t have the same ideologies or beliefs. My life would probably be reigned by ignorance and fear, having to accept only what the authorities told me was the truth. My education would consist of absorbing information that had no real value. If you can’t talk, if you can’t express, how are you supposed to come into your own being? I would not be here, typing this.
I experience free speech in class all the time. I’m allowed to voice my opinions and ideas, and in return, I receive critique and engagement from other classmates. Without free speech we cannot have a democracy. I would not be able to express my frustration about the dress code. I experience freedom of speech through the books I read, through the music I listen to, the magazine articles I read, and the newspaper I help run.
How have you used freedom of assembly and freedom of association. How may you use it in the future? If that was taken away, how would it affect you?
I’ve used freedom of association when it comes to my beliefs in feminism. To the knowledge of my memory, I’ve never assembled with a specific reason as to why I wanted to express myself. A couple weekends ago, I was going to go protest for climate change with my mother and my friend. If we hadn’t missed the march, I would have used the freedom to assemble in the Santa Fe plaza and I would have used the freedom of association in relation to attaching myself to that specific movement.
In the future, I’m sure that I’ll participate in various protests about issues that I feel are relevant. I’ll use freedom of association to associate myself with movements I believe in.
If it was taken away from me, I’d feel more oppressed as a citizen and as an individual.
If Freedom of Religion was revoked from the Constitution of the United States, then how would your life be affected?
I would not be able to read books that have concepts related to other religions that may not be accepted by the United States Government, by the state, or by a school. I would not have the opportunity to engage in religious acts that I may come to be affiliated with in the future. I would probably be forced to say a prayer in school, or go to sunday school as a requirement by the school. There would be quite a few religious extremists within the country, and there would probably be more religious voilence.
Which of the freedoms or restrictions with regard to student speech and amendments do you feel most passionate about?
I feel that freedom of peaceful assembly for students is important because it enables them to learn how to be a citizen of a democratic nation through actively engaging in politics and their government, as well as their first amendment rights.
I also feel that freedom of the press is important in high school because students, like I said before, students learn about the ethics of journalism and how to use their First Amendment Rights through producing a newspaper. If that means that the newspaper is allowed to question or confront the government or the school’s decisions, I’m all for it.
First amendment freedoms are important beyond our borders in the sense that they support the equality and justice of all people. Within our specific democracy, and within other democracies as well, this is not quite the case. Equality and justice are not always found. Yet when it comes to supporting them and vocalizing them within our foreign policy, I believe that we should first look at the flaws within our own democracy and how some of the First Amendment freedoms may be belittled by corporate capitalism within the government before we go on as a nation to proclaim that our government is the end all be all when it comes to an ideal way of living.
We can support equality and the values surrounding the First Amendment freedoms through diplomacy, and specifically through the United Nations. The U.N may not be the ultimate authority when it comes to international policy, it may indeed by the U.S and other influential countries, but I think the U.N is the current forum that needs to be utilized the most to create world equality and justice. If the U.S acts on it’s own, we don’t have the checks and balances system that the U.N has put in place.
What should the rules around free speech be?
I’m pretty much along the lines with the U.S Supreme Court System when it comes to Freedom of Speech. Incriminating, hateful, and violence invoking speech should be restricted. I find this to be a very non-radical point of view. I think the Freedom of Press should be reigned in because the press gives out a lot of false information.
How do you experience free speech in your everyday life?
If there was no free speech today...I would not be able to go on the internet and read about young women who are changing the world through activism. I wouldn’t have the same ideologies or beliefs. My life would probably be reigned by ignorance and fear, having to accept only what the authorities told me was the truth. My education would consist of absorbing information that had no real value. If you can’t talk, if you can’t express, how are you supposed to come into your own being? I would not be here, typing this.
I experience free speech in class all the time. I’m allowed to voice my opinions and ideas, and in return, I receive critique and engagement from other classmates. Without free speech we cannot have a democracy. I would not be able to express my frustration about the dress code. I experience freedom of speech through the books I read, through the music I listen to, the magazine articles I read, and the newspaper I help run.
How have you used freedom of assembly and freedom of association. How may you use it in the future? If that was taken away, how would it affect you?
I’ve used freedom of association when it comes to my beliefs in feminism. To the knowledge of my memory, I’ve never assembled with a specific reason as to why I wanted to express myself. A couple weekends ago, I was going to go protest for climate change with my mother and my friend. If we hadn’t missed the march, I would have used the freedom to assemble in the Santa Fe plaza and I would have used the freedom of association in relation to attaching myself to that specific movement.
In the future, I’m sure that I’ll participate in various protests about issues that I feel are relevant. I’ll use freedom of association to associate myself with movements I believe in.
If it was taken away from me, I’d feel more oppressed as a citizen and as an individual.
If Freedom of Religion was revoked from the Constitution of the United States, then how would your life be affected?
I would not be able to read books that have concepts related to other religions that may not be accepted by the United States Government, by the state, or by a school. I would not have the opportunity to engage in religious acts that I may come to be affiliated with in the future. I would probably be forced to say a prayer in school, or go to sunday school as a requirement by the school. There would be quite a few religious extremists within the country, and there would probably be more religious voilence.
Which of the freedoms or restrictions with regard to student speech and amendments do you feel most passionate about?
I feel that freedom of peaceful assembly for students is important because it enables them to learn how to be a citizen of a democratic nation through actively engaging in politics and their government, as well as their first amendment rights.
I also feel that freedom of the press is important in high school because students, like I said before, students learn about the ethics of journalism and how to use their First Amendment Rights through producing a newspaper. If that means that the newspaper is allowed to question or confront the government or the school’s decisions, I’m all for it.