Our blueprint for personal freedom and the hallmark of an open society, the First Amendment protects freedom of speech, press, religion, assembly and petition. Without the First Amendment, religious minorities could be persecuted, the government might well establish a national religion, protesters could be silenced, the press could not

Freedom is privilege. With privilege, comes responsibility (I know I'm quoting Batmanor Spiderman?). The weight of this responsibility calls into question our level of preparedness. Do we have the wisdom and other general 'good' principles t Our blueprint for personal freedom and the hallmark of an open society, the First Amendment protects freedom of speech, press, religion, assembly and petition. Without the First Amendment, religious minorities could be persecuted, the government might well establish a national religion, protesters could be silenced, the press could not The First Amendment guarantee of freedom of speech is one of the parts of the Bill of Rights we are most likely to cite.But you don't have freedom of speech everywhere. More than two centuries after freedom of speech was enshrined in the First Amendment to the Constitution, that right is very much in the news. Campus speech codes, disinvited commencement speakers

"We forget that, although freedom of speech constitutes an important victory in the battle against old restraints, modern man is in a position where much of what "he" thinks and says are the things that everybody else thinks and says; that he has not acquired the ability to think originally - that is, for himself - which alone gives meaning

Freedom is privilege. With privilege, comes responsibility (I know I'm quoting Batmanor Spiderman?). The weight of this responsibility calls into question our level of preparedness. Do we have the wisdom and other general 'good' principles t

Freedom of speech is a very good thing. It allows us to provide differing views on important thing happening in our society (immigration, gun control, taxes, the president, LGBT issues, whatever). Right now in the US, even though it doesn't seem like we're accomplishing anything, we are letting the president know that we don't want him in

Freedom of speech—the right to express opinions without government restraint—is a democratic ideal that dates back to ancient Greece. In the United States, the First Amendment guarantees free Persuading this audience that free speech is a good thing is a bit like Mitt Romney preaching to a certain musical ensemble in Salt Lake City. But the value of free speech is still very much worth affirming. Where the concept of Freedom of Speech is absent, people believe they are entitled to kill others who say things they find offensive. Without Freedom of Speech, we would literally be living in the Other rulings specify free speech does not include the ability to create and distribute obscene materials; to promote illegal drug use at a school-sponsored event (if you're a student, anyway); and to burn draft cards as a means of protest [source: United States Courts].. You can see how tricky the issue is when you consider the Supreme Court ruled flag-burning is an acceptable form of free "What freedom means to me is taking full advantage of the power of choice. There's not just one answer for everything, and having the ability to try new things, experiment and to go down