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Renae Sweet

Ms. Layton

English 1010

18, April 2019

Free Speech

Topic Introduction

In the First Amendment states that there can be no law created that limiting a person’s

right to speak, choice of religion, gathering to discuss, and people’s freedom to petition the

government. A person's right to speak can be expressed in many different ways. The freedom to

speak otherwise known as free speech takes many different forms in our world today. People use

that right in everyday life. On the sidewalk, in schools throughout all grade levels, in our

political discussions, and in many other areas that are very important to how the world work

today. All together free speech is in almost everything we do.

Leonard Williams, an author writing for ​The​ ​First Amendment Encyclopedia, d​ iscusses

John Stuart Mill, a modern day philosopher who contributed to thoughts on “modern liberalism

and individual liberty.” He brings up that Mill had such a strong belief in the freedom of thought

and discussion that most of the First Amendment, rides on his ideas. That Mill lived out the

belief that humanity will succeed most, when we are open to truth. That the more truth that

comes out our world will be better off. The freedom to speak out without being suppressed by a

higher power allows the truth to surface.

Though that is uncomfortable, it is vital for society and different people to gather their

own conclusions, questions, and stigmas both good and bad. Heidi Stevens of the ​Chicago
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Tribune,​ discusses Zachary Wood childhood and who it has made him to be today. Wood is

college student, author, and speaker who supports uncomfortable speech. He is also in charge of

a group called Uncomfortable Learning. They had an anti-feminist come speak, and it was very

odd and uncomfortable for the college students. Though Wood believes that in our world today

we need this kind of conversation. Wood had Suzanne Venker speak, she is an anti-feminist.

Venker’s beliefs are freely spoken by herself and others, also because of recents movement that's

disagree with what she believes people are uncomfortable by her stance. On that note, Wood

discusses Venker’s effect on people and free speech along with the point it brings up. He states,

“I believed that her arguments deserved trenchant criticism but to challenge her intellectually and

critique her arguments, we had to first understand them,” along with that he says, “Engaging

with Venker’s ideas was not an ideological endorsement.” In these words Wood is making the

point that though it is hard, and uncomfortable, to listen to such beliefs one must understand to

the beliefs. The reason being if someone disagrees with the beliefs and tries to discuss further on

the opposing side, how could one make a good argument if they don’t first understand what the

other person’s belief is.

All together free speech is uncomfortably important. The right is necessary for our world

to succeed, and evolve. Without it the people of the world and how society works in general

would lag behind it’s intended state, and healthy state of growth and being.

Topic Introduction 2

In the previous introduction, a couple different sources discussed their research,

questions, and finding. Along with them, there a quite a few more that have and continue to

tackle this topic. Starting off with free speech itself, there are two different forms of it, according
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too Zachary Wood, who in his interview hosted by Guy Raz from TED Radio Hour, discussed

free speech and as mentioned before why uncomfortable speech is necessary. Wood briefly

discusses the two different forms of free speech. One being the right iself; someone speaking out

without being suppressed by the government. The other being that people speak out because of

public opinion, or because of culture.

On another note, Zach Wood, again discusses in TED Radio Hour along with a Ted Ed

video that he invited a few well known public speakers, to speak at the college he attends. He

mentions that these speakers have completely opposing ideas to him. When Wood mentions he

invited these speakers he states “knowing full well I would be giving them a platform and

attention for ideas that I despised and rejected. But this is just a further evolution of a journey of

uncomfortable learning through out my life”. Wood believes that even in the uncomfortable

learning of someone, speaking because of cultural opinion, even when their ideas and opinion

seem so awful. We learn much more from them than staying comfortable in our own ideas.

Another side to free speech’s role in the world today is discussed by Steven Pinker, a

cognitive psychologist and an author. In a film displayed on Vimeo he is interviewed in regards

to free speech. Pinker begins his interview by saying, “if it wasn’t for free speech we wouldn't be

having this conversation.” He then goes onto discuss that there are “worrisome pushbacks” in

regards to free speech in political areas and campus. He gives the example of our president

Donald Trump who takes criticism not well and uses his right of speaking his opinion, resulting

in him using his right against people.

In addition, Pinker discusses another pushback which is in the area of campuses. Many

speakers are being uninvited, attacked, insulted, mobbed, etc. because they speak out uncommon
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and unliked ideas. This goes back to Wood’s belief that uncomfortable conversation, creates

uncomfortable learning. But the learning is important to how our world grows. Pinker also brings

to light that there seems to be a societal idea that there is a correct answer to every one thing.

That there can’t be more than one right answer to something. He states this has a lot to do with

what seems at the moment, politically correct.

Major Debates and Commentary

The idea and use of free speech has many different aspects to it that some people believe

is vital and to others is not. The question that begins this discussion is a very basic question but

unlocks a quite few different topics regarding free speech. Is the right to speak a good thing or a

bad thing? Why? Free Speech has been such a large component to how our world works today

and it plays an important part in people lives whether it was a good thing or a bad thing.

Free speech in the eyes of Josie Timms, the author of “Why is Free Speech Important?,

looks like how it was used in the 1950’s and 60’s. She shares more by saying, “​Free speech has

always been important throughout history because it has been used to fight for change.” ​She

discusses this by looking back into our country's history. By going over big movements that

changed our world. Timms states, ​“When we talk about rights today they wouldn’t have been

achieved without free speech.” ​Imagine living in a world where slavery was a large issue, or

colored people don’t have equal rights as white people. Even the LGBT community, would most

likely not exist because people wouldn’t have the right to speak out against political or social

beliefs that others hold.

On the other hand, free speech can be used as hate speech. The two are different. This is

how free speech can become not a good thing. Hate speech is in some ways connected to free
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speech and is often associated with different cultures in regarding the right to speech. This idea is

brought up in a TED Radio Hour podcast with Zachary Wood, who has been discussed in this

essay before. Wood mentioned to Raz that free speech has two different version to its name. One

being the actual right to speak without being suppressed by the government. The other being that

people speak out because of public opinion. They aren’t necessarily speaking towards a cause, or

movement, Wood says, but instead just to share their opinion, to share it. They don’t have a

specific stance they take, or change they want. This might result in hate speech, yet in some

cases it doesn’t. This factor is somewhat decided on the person themselves and their personal

beliefs or stigmas.

In addition, many people believe hate speech is not protected by the First Amendment. Or

so Lee Rowland, states this in her article, “Free Speech Can Be Messy, but We Need It”. She

brings up that she hears many younger people say hate speech is not protected by the freedom to

speak. She goes on sharing that hate speech itself seems to be a “flexible concept”. She uses this

phrase because there have been big movements and controversial situations in the past that are

very heavily run by hate speech but nothing necessarily happened to the users of this speech.

Rowland specifically mentioned a Klu Klux Klan trail when discussing this. She tells that the

man being taken to trial was saying that the First Amendment protects his violent speech. The

judges agreed with him. The other story Rowland shares is that, “... the Spanish government

arrested and charged a man with “hate speech” for calling cops “slackers” on Facebook.” She

goes to say, “That’s what criticizing the government looks like without a First Amendment.”

She states that if the government is being threatened by the speech they can easily change your
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protection. Where as in the case of the man who ran a KKK rally, was not threatening the

government he therefore is protected.

Another concept, discussed by Timms is the freedom to listen in relation to the freedom

to speak. She writes, “​Free speech is not only about your ability to speak but the ability to listen

to others and allow other views to be heard.​” Timms believes that it is key for our society to not

just share and speak out our views but to listen to others. This is how our societies, communities,

governments, and states will change for the better. It is important to hear different beliefs

because it shapes our own and brings up problems that need to be altered.

In collaboration, Timms takes another stance for why free speech is important. She brings

to light the reality that bad ideas are deflated by good ideas. If there were “bans and censorships”

on free speech bad ideas might not be defeated. Though through good and bad ideas people will

get offended that is also a right people have within free speech. People have the “right to

offend”, Timms states. She goes on to discusses that this past year an NFL player began kneeling

during the national anthem before his football games. This offended many people, yet that is his

right. He used his First Amendment to share his opinion.

To sum up, the right to speech is both good and bad and brings up controversial things.

The big picture is that this essay wouldn’t be shared if the First Amendment was not created.

People wouldn’t be able to discuss topics is the right to speech wasn’t a thing. The world does so

much on a daily basis that involves sharing opinions whether they benefit people or not. In the

end free speech has been such a large portion of our world changing and will continue to shape

society.

Areas Of Further Inquiry

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In closing this topic there are areas left to explore, and questions to be asked. One being,

should there be limitations to free speech? A PBS author Ben Wizner​, discusses what limitations

on the right to speak would do to world, and would look like in it today. In his article “​Should

There Be Limits on Freedom of Speech?”, he ​states, “The truth is that when the government gets

to decide which speech is permissible, its exercise of that authority is almost always driven by

political considerations, not principled distinctions. And those who proposed the restrictions

often come to regret it.” The author explains that if limitation are put on free speech there is

always a specific agenda or biased on it based off of the purpose.

Wizner also goes on to close his article by saying, “In short, it would be a society wholly

alien to America’s founders who, after all, had some pretty provocative ideas of their own.” He

discusses that if free speech wasn’t a thing or had limitations we as Americans would be foreign

to our society, history, and purpose. Which is to be creative, speak up, be the change in the world

we want to happen. Wizner interviewed Salman Rushdie who brought up that “free speech is not

free”. This means that there is always going to be a cost to free speech good and bad. When it

comes to thinking of limitations on free speech he says that the cost that free speech has always

had needs to be taken into consideration.

Overall the questions regarding free speech tackle different sides and opinions on free

speech. The right to speech is important to whom Americans are and their culture. Putting

limitation on it would take away from being creative trying to inflict change, and growing in a

good direction. But in some cases limitation are what the world needs in regards to possible

violence, hate speech, and much more. Free speech has played a very large part in the downfall

and development of society in past years and today. If the world wants to continue growing
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getting stronger and smarter, many things point to using free speech. Not hate speech, or speech

that lashed out on people for no reason. Yet speech that brings forward the truth, uncomfortable

truth, and ideas in general in order for community to see all sides and excel.
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Works Cited

ASU Now. “Steven Pinker on Free Speech.” ​Vimeo​, ASU Now, 4 Apr. 2018,

vimeo.com/263274332.

Raz, Guy. “The Right to Speak.” ​TED Radio Hour NPR,​ NPR, 27 July 2018,

www.npr.org/podcasts/510298/ted-radio-hour.

Rowland, Lee. “Free Speech Can Be Messy, but We Need It.” ​American Civil Liberties Union,​ 9

Mar. 2018, www.aclu.org/blog/free-speech/free-speech-can-be-messy-we-need-it.

Stevens, Heidi. “The Power of Uncomfortable Conversations: 'I Was Sick of Living in an Echo

Chamber'.” ​Chicagotribune.com,​ Chicago Tribune, 19 June 2018,

www.chicagotribune.com/lifestyles/stevens/ct-life-stevens-monday-zachary-wood-uncom

fortable-conversations-0618-story.html.

Timms, Josie. “Why Is Free Speech Important?” ​Index on Censorship​, 13 Apr. 2016,

www.indexoncensorship.org/2016/04/free-speech-important/.

Williams, Leonard. “John Stuart Mill.” ​John Stuart Mill,​ Middle Tennessee State University,

https://www.mtsu.edu/first-amendment/article/1258/john-stuart-mill

Wizner, Ben. “Should There Be Limits on Free Speech.” ​PBS,​ Public Broadcasting Service,

www.pbs.org/tpt/constitution-usa-peter-sagal/rights/limits-free-speech/#.XMNaIK2-JE4​.

Wood, Zachary. ​TED Ed NPR,​ NPR, 27 July 2018,

www.npr.org/2018/07/27/632612110/zachary-wood-why-should-we-listen-to-views-we-f

ind-offensive.