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George Washington once said, “ If freedom of speech is taken away, then dumb and silent we may be led, like sheep to the slaughter.” In recent elections the American voter turnout has been about 60% that means that around 40% of voters are voiceless and not represented. All Americans are well endowed with the basic freedom of speech yet so many people do not use it. Similar to what George Washington said, Americans are being led silently, to dumbly believe and settle for whatever happens in our government and economy.
This year many voters are blaming the lack of adequate choices for president for their choice to not participate in this year 's election. Some say Clinton is unreliable, Trump is rude and the two other candidates are so under the radar that most people don’t even have an opinion on them. Though these flaws are made easy to view through various media sources, they should not be used solely to help pick the next president. It is all too often that politicians are easy to dislike and like this year it may be like picking between the lesser of two evils. Not voting won 't prevent your least favorite candidate from being elected, it only allows you to be led dumb and silent to settle for whatever happens in our government and society. In days that seem to be long forgotten, before voting was possible for
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When we don 't vote, we allow things to happen whether we like it or not, good or bad. The right to vote is a freedom, meaning you are free to vote or not vote, but it doesn 't make sense to complain when things don 't go how you expect when you had the platform to voice your opinion. Complaining after not voting would be like asking a student about college debt and interest and the college student walks away, but in turn gets mad that college interest rates are too high. We all have the opportunity to change and control what goes on in our lives through
The Chartist movement (a working class political movement) in 1840 believed “People had no one else but themselves to blame for the actions of their politicians” (Nash). What Mr. Nash and the chartist movement believe couldn’t be more on the spot. This country has gotten to the point where people find it hard to walk down their street to the elementary school where the voting polls are, and take a few minutes to cast a vote. A vote that millions of people around the world wish they were able to have them selves. With all the political suffrage that goes on through the world and people forced to love a leader, these no-shows should be thankful to live in a democracy. A place where elections aren’t rigged and the people are truly heard. This is why the topic of voting turnout needs to be raised. Also it’s very annoying to hear people complaining about our President when they did not even vote. It’s a very bad habit to not vote, and it needs to change with the younger citizens of this country. Helping younger people see the importance of voting needs to start with technological and educational ideas while expanding all the way to social event ideas. Only then will America’s ability to find answers to voting turnout increase.
The first amendment is the cornerstone of our American society founded years ago by our forefathers. Without the first amendment many ideas, beliefs, and groups could not exist today. The first amendment guaranteed the people of the United States the freedom of speech, freedom of the press, and freedom of religion, freedom of assembly, and freedom of petition. Although the first amendment guarantees us, Americans the freedom of speech, we cannot use it to cause others harm. This amendment has helped shaped Americans into what we are today, because of our right to assemble, speak freely, and worship as we please.
“A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed” is stated in the United States Constitution as the Second Amendment. Several Americans wish to rid of guns from citizens, disobeying and disrespecting the Constitution. I shot my first gun when I was young and have always been surrounded by them. My neighbor does not leave the house without carrying one, nor does my eighteen year old friend. Never once have I felt unsafe or uneasy knowing that there was a gun close to me. The right to bare arms has become a popular local battle in which some people want to reduce the freedom of one owning firearms while others wish for the
The "silent majority" of the American people is now accepted as the status quo, the way things always have been and will be. Voter turnout is now the litmus test for political participation. Non-voters are becoming rampant in our democracy, with voter turnout hovering around a low 60% for general elections. At this rate, a candidate would have to win over 80% of that 60% vote in order to have true majority support. Thus, inactivity in voting threatens the very legitimacy of our government. In the recent November 7, 2013 midterm election, a few counties reported a mere 4% of eligible voters actually participated, in some cases to vote for a policy referendum that would aff...
When I was four, my grandpa’s gruff voice inquired “Now Pooh, what direction should the muzzle of that pistol be pointing to?” He taught me all the safety precautions when handling or firing any pistols, shotgun, or assault rifle from my first to the last. Then, on the tenth day of my freshmen year he was put into the ICU and he told me he had cancer. I went up to the hospital to see him, and my grandpa said “Pooh, I do not know how much time I have left, but I want you to get your NRA pistol instructor certification.” In August I told him I would. In October, he passed way and in November, to honor my grandfather’s wishes, I became the youngest NRA certified pistol instructor in the state of Oklahoma.While contemporary liberals fear the power available to a minority of unstable citizens who wreak havoc through gun ownership, the Second Amendment rights must be preserved because we are sworn to protect and serve the United States Constitution as citizens, fight for our freedoms just as the colonists did in the Revolutionary War, and by bearing our firearms freely, letting them ring throughout the United States.
The Free Speech Movement (FSM) at the University of California at Berkeley started during the fall of 1964. (Freeman, Jo) But there were many events leading up to this point. The Free Speech Movement began to obtain momentum in the fall of 1963 and the spring of 1964 the Bay Area was rocked with the civil rights demonstrations against employers who practiced racial discrimination. (Freeman, Jo) These students believed that this was wrong and felt the need to do something about it. So many Berkeley students were recruited for these protests from Bancroft and Telegraph which where the companies that were racial discriminating against races and groups of people.(Freeman, Jo) With these protest there were many arrest made of Berkeley students there were about 500 arrests made over several months. (Freeman, Jo)
America, a country based on the freedom to openly display the many beliefs of its citizens, has began to face opposition from the citizens which the country fights every day trying to protect. Against all odds, worshipers are still free to worship and spread the knowledge of one's religion. American freedoms according to the Constitution of Independence are a countries natural God given rights. Regardless of nationality, everyone is entitled to the liberties and freedoms America allows. Thousands of soldiers are willing to sacrifice their lives in order to keep these freedoms alive. Standing with one's hat off and right hand over one's heart is the way that American citizens respects these soldiers and their families. Although denying these expectations are completely legal, many people do not believe it is acceptable. In fact, living in a free country everyone is expected to uphold these ideological views. The American flag is a very personified object to the American population. While the flag is only material it holds the idea of the American dream. Highly regarded celebrities are now openly refusing to conform to these expectations due to how a certain race is being treated. No matter how many people
Internet is a powerful tool that allows users to collaborate and interact with others all over the world conveniently and relatively safely. It has allowed education and trade to be accessed easily and quickly, but all these benefits do not come without very taxing costs. This is especially true when dealing with the likes of the Internet. Countries in the European Union and Asia have realized this and have taken action against the threat of net neutrality to protect their citizens, even at the cost of online privacy. Internet censorship is required to protect us from our opinions and vices. Every country should adopt Internet censorship and regulation since it improves society by reducing pornography, racism/prejudice, and online identity theft.
Last, because of censorship, freedom of speech on campus should not be limited on campus. According to the Constitution, it is unconstitutional when the government uses censorship because censorship is speech which has been censored. For instance, according to the Chronicle of Higher Education, Sara Hebel, “ public-college officials in California would be strictly limited in their ability to censor the content of student-run newspapers under proposed legislation that passed the State Assembly this month” (Hebel A28). Hebel explains that “college students are worried that the bill will provide campus administrators to infringe new limits on what students say” (Hebel A28). Hebei reflects that university should not limit what students can or cannot say in a newspaper. The bill states: “The bill would write into state law broad protections for the written speech of college journalists, a move that would complement and enhance the free-speech rights to which students
Is Free Speech Fading Off College Campuses? The first amendment to the United States prevents the government from infringing on the right to free speech. College is an institute of education that prepares its student for their futures. Students are exposed to a wide range of experiences and diversity, including different viewpoints.
Everywhere someone turns there are censors, protection against “explicit material” and pixels to blur out the middle finger and body parts. If one turns on the tv, there will be blurs and bleeps between every channel and even parts being taken out of movies because of content that is censored from the audience. Words, music, and even television are censored to “prevent negative displays of cultures,individuals, or communities” (“Revealed…”).Censorship is mainly regarding parents and children- what they deem has the best and worst influence on them. Of course one can argue that censors are mandatory,for children especially, but in truth censors are non essential nuisances. What these censors do is create a barrier for teenagers and preteens from reality and what actually happens in real life. As well as shielding young children from harmful material that a child should not see. Although censors are needed to protect children from explicit material, there is also too much censoring in books,music, and television.
Around the world there are countries that still don’t allow some or all of their citizens to vote. However in America the right to vote is simply given to every American citizen over the age of 18. So you’d think that every US citizen over the age of 18 would be voting for everything, right? WRONG. Out of everyone in the US only 57% voted at our last presidential election. So out of the two hundred and forty-eight million people in the United States of as of November 30 who are eligible to vote only about 57% of the population will vote for the presidency. So out of two hundred and forty-eight million people only about one hundred and forty-three million citizens will cast their vote in the upcoming presidential election. And this is a vote
Numerous amounts of students working their way up to learn at higher level institutions are not fully aware of the way colleges and university systems from all across the country work. Reality is that everyone always wants to know the truth and only the truth, and in order for that to occur, the mind must be allowed to think, argue for or against, and act beyond on what is not able to be expressed. Although everyone in the U.S. is granted freedom of speech through the rights in the Constitution, a vast majority of universities whom promise it in their school grounds restrict students from speaking their minds and make a scandal on speech that is righteously protected. The values that should control and influence the way humans should live in a free society have been distorted due to the criminalization of students for the slightest offense on a policy.
Freedom of speech has been the core principle we have fought long and hard for centuries to achieve. It is the fundamental reason why the founders seperated from England and started their own colonies on the idea of becoming free. In recent times the idea of freedom of speech has been put into question as there has been incidents for years of racism, religious differences and discriminatory abuse. What comes into question is what exactly is your freedom of speech rights and what should be and should not be said in the public eye. The problems that we see arising in today’s society is discrimination and abuse against one another for opposing views and what exactly should your freedom of speech rights entail to as many hate crimes have occurred
Social media has taken us ages ahead when it comes to freedom of speech, and the internet has given more networks through which individuals can connect their ideas and feelings. Society can blog about government, post videos about topics we feel strongly about, and with the ability to get things off our chests through places like Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube. However, who makes the call about what is suitable and is pushing the limits of freedom of speech too far? Freedom to speak is “without restriction or limitation.” Still, this does not mean that individuals was allowed to go around saying anything they want about whomever or whenever they want. There are firm limitations. For example, it is illegal to commit insults, telling lies to upset others, or to say or do something with the purpose of hurting others. However, the link between right or wrong is unclear when it comes to freedom of speech, leaving a lot of questioning and debate in this area.