Ben's T Shirt Case

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The reason why the justices argue about whether Ben’s t-shirt was speech is because some of them believe that the message and symbols on one’s clothes are not speech, and they believe that those messages and symbols are simply one personal interest of what to wear, and it is not related to speech at all. They have to clarify what is speech; otherwise, they cannot define whether the first amendment protects it or not. Also, some justices believe that the message and symbol on Ben’s T-shirt is basically more related to cultural speech which is our daily lives, and they also think that cultural speech is not as important as political speech; thus, they think that even though Ben’s T-shirt is a way of expressing his speech, since it is cultural speech, it is not protected by the first amendment as well. However, in fact, cultural speech is just as important as political speech and is also protected by the first amendment.

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