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Significance of the freedom of speech
Significance of the freedom of speech
Significance of the freedom of speech
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“Does peaceful resistance to laws positively or negatively impacts a free society?” A fundamental aspect of the US Constitution is the right of “Free Speech”. Although all Americans have this right, it does not allow for civil disobedience or violating the law, thus violating another person’s rights. So in the question posed, if peaceful resistance is interpreted as peaceful protest then this is in line with our Constitution and can have a positive impact on a free society. If peaceful resistance is interpreted as a “right” to riot, violate the law, destroy property or similar acts, then this can have a negative impact on a free society. This is a topic that is quite relevant today. Although there are many to choose from, I will compare a few recent examples. …show more content…
The Dallas police were protecting the marches when this “protest” turned into a riot. 12 police were shot and 56 were killed thus the right to protest in the guise of Free Speech, turned into a riot with innocent lives lost. This not only creates a negative impact on a free society but also creates a racial divide that will be difficult to repair. Police officers across the country started to back off investigating crime. The overall criminal activity, it appear, has started to rise. Protest by Right to Choice Group in Washington DC and other cities The majority of these demonstrations were a peaceful which is exactly what the constitution allows. In a few cases, especially in Washington DC, the demonstrators resorted to rioting. They broke windows, set a limousine on fire, and destroyed property. This has a negative effect on society and on their cause. The main speakers expressed more “hate speech” instead of reasons why things should change. Protest by Right to Life Group in Washington DC and other
Others protest that has had an effect on America since the Amendment was ratified are protest against war such as Vietnam and Desert Shield/Desert Storm, Civil Rights Movement, and more recently the protest of the World Trade Organization (WTO) in Seattle. Also the many strikes and pickets labor union have been involved in through out history. There are differences among these gatherings. The most striking difference is typically if the protest is violent or non-violent. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Henry David Thoreau referred to the use of civil disobedience. In the movie, ?Breaking the Spell? protesters felt they were not being violent since the items they damaged belong to big business.
The Major of the county police department ordered them to stop the protesters.They didn’t want the protest to be successful, they thought it wasn’t fair for both blacks and whites to vote. Major John Cloud ordered the 600 marchers, they had less than two minutes to leave. The marchers left the first time, but came back for a second time. The second time they came back, the marchers refused to turn back and got tear gas, beaten with sticks, injured, shot or had a gun pointed to their head, clubs and other weapons. The police officers were wearing protective gear, but the marchers were not. Police officers broke up the group of marchers and then beat them on the highway. On this march, they had governor George Wallace. George Wallace was the 45th governor of Alabama. He too believed that blacks should be treated equally. When the officers were arresting people, they arrested Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. He was one of the people who led the marchers from Selma to Montgomery. At night when everybody was marching or in the streets taking a break, police officers would come, shoot the lights out in the street so no one of the marchers could see them. The police officers then beat them. Sometimes, the marchers would go into corn fields to get sleep instead of walking all night or sleeping on the streets. Cops and police officers during Bloody Sunday were just following what they were ordered to
While non-violent protests were politically correct, many participants often put their lives, families and property in danger. Particularly in the south, the KKK and other white supremacist groups gained a reputation for church bombings, lynching and other violent acts against minorities. Despite pacifist idealism in a public protest, it didn’t mean black were willing to let their homes, churches and loved ones go undefended. Many took it upon themselves to arm and protect their communities through any means necessary, and by acquiring as many weapons they could get their hands on. Many black southerners were prepared to meet violence with
Since the media covered this riot people began seeing it more as discrimination and took is amongst themselves to fix the problem their way. It was easily perceived that the focus of this was on racial discrimination but let’s not forget it as well has to do with police force, which is known has police brutality. The angry rioters responded by dragging a white truck driver whose name is Reginald Denny into the streets and severely beaten. This was being broadcasted live on local television. This is when viewers saw that the police were unable to enforce the
In our country’s history, Civil Disobedience has had positive effects upon legislation and societal norms. The First Amendment of the United States Constitution states five basic forms of expression that are to be protected by the government: Speech, Press, Assembly, Religion, and Petition. The Founders, in essence, created a means by which the average citizen can achieve political and social change. Justice William J. Brennan Jr. stated in 1989 that, “If there is a bedrock principle underlying the First Amendment, it is that government cannot prohibit the expression of an idea simply because the society finds the idea itself offensive or disagreeable.”* When citizens speak out or
According to Apel (2014), on August 9,2014, Michael Brown,18, an unarmed black man of Ferguson, Missouri was shot and killed by a white police officer named Darren Wilson. Considering the evidence, a grand jury decided not to indict Wilson. This sparked a nationwide protest. People came from near and far to protest the judge’s decision. It was no peaceful protest, it might have appeared to start out as a nonviolent protest, but like many protests, it quickly turned violent. People wanted justice and the people felt as though the system once again had felled them. Barnett (2014), a reporter says that after the shooting groups such as the “New Black Panthers,” demanded a rebellion against the officer who shot Brown. For a while the head of police was not going to reveal the name of the officer who killed the Brown, but after a series of violent protest, the head of police released the officer’s name. If violence was not used during the protest it would not have received worldwide attention. Furthermore, the public would not have known the officer who killed Brown. Due to the amount of attention the Michael Brown’s case received and because of the amount of passion the protestors had and how they were willing to die to get their point across sparked attention. Requiring many people who were in the political spotlight to
Peaceful resistance itself does not affect a free society. A people-group can protest any number of laws: voting rights, taxes, and the legality of murder. A majority of society must determine what is best for itself. If the principles of a resistance aligns with the ideals of the society, the pursuit of betterment positively impacts that
The first march wasn't what they wanted to achieve and got sent back to the bridge. The second march was when they were crossing the bridge. The police officers attacked them with stick, teargas, clubs, arrested innocent people, guns were fired, knocked people to the ground, whips, rubber tubing wrapped in barbed wire was a weapon that the police officers whipped at the marchers. The third time they went to march, they won Federal Protection and they successfully marched for their cause. King wrote to New York Times, “This is Selma, Alabama. There are more negroes in jail with me than they are on the voting rolls.” (Klein 1). The National Guard helped them on the last march. No police officers could turn them back, and they couldn't beat them in front of the National Guard. These innocent, peacefully protesting people were injured and one was shot and killed. Jimmy Lee Jackson was a 20 year old who was protecting his grandma and mom. He was struck by a club, then shot with a gun. Over 50 people were injured and hospitalized. A couple people died months later because of their injuries. These marchers were not interrupting anybody or bothering anything and the police officers had to take action. They were on the sidewalk of the highway and away from the officers and others. The officers thought they were going to do something bad so they took
There are Henry David Thoreau’s refusal to pay taxes in abhorrence of the U.S.’s institution of slavery, Mahatma Gandhi’s 240 mile walk protesting British rule and taxation over India, John Lennon and Yoko Ono’s ‘bed-ins’ against the Vietnam War, Martin Luther King Jr.’s commitment to the principle that, in his words, “the choice today is no longer between violence and nonviolence. It is either nonviolence or nonexistence.” These examples range from gestures designed to bring awareness and attract popular support to actions directed pointedly against an opposing force. Not all of these protests were entirely successful, though many, such as Gandhi’s, instigated great change. It remains to be seen whether many of today’s protests, be they march, rally, traffic blockage, boycott, or something else entirely will accomplish what they wish. The real question here not whether past, present, or future protests succeed, however, for there is value in taking a stance in victory or failure. Neither is the issue truly whether the beliefs driving that stance are right or wrong- people should have the right to believe and protest what they want. By definition, civil disobedience and ‘peaceful’ protesting do not directly harm others. So in the end, does peaceful protesting positively or negatively impact society? Can it truly create positive
Peaceful resistance to laws positively impact a free society because if there isn't, how will people hear the voices of the oppressed and mistreated? Peaceful resistance comes a long way in trying to advance the rights and customs of the oppressed today. For example, The Salt March of 1930 was based on the Salt Act of 1882, which excluded the people the India from producing or getting salt, only British officials. Mahatma Gandhi was the leader of this protest. According to an article by time.com, it says that "The protest continued until Gandhi was granted bargaining rights at a negotiation in London. India didn’t see freedom until 1947, but the salt satyagraha (his brand of civil disobedience) established Gandhi as a force to be reckoned with and set a powerful precedent for future nonviolent protestors, including Martin Luther King Jr.(Sarah Begley,2015)" This means the salt march was a start for India's independence. Also, Gandhi's brand of civil disobedience set precedents for future nonviolent protests. Another Example of how peaceful protests
In response to a protest at the McCormick Harvester factory in Chicago where the police reportedly killed six workers, local radicals led by Albert Parsons organized a meeting at Haymarket Square in downtown Chicago. Several thousand showed up to hear the speakers. The speakers were very careful to not incite violence in the already agitated crowd. After the speeches had been given large numbers of people left, however those who remained behind would be forever remembered in our history books. An army of police descended on the crowd and gave them an order to disperse. During the confusion, an unknown person threw a bomb into the crowd of police, killing one officer. Police began to fire on the crowd; the agitated strikers retaliated with a hail of bullets as well. A riot broke out in which one worker was killed and twelve were wounded, one policeman wa...
Peaceful resistance to laws positively impacts a free society. Even in a democracy there are unjust laws, the question comes down to how we handle these laws. Should we be content to obey these laws, or should we try to change them? Most people in a democracy would agree with the second course as the best. There is a right to "revolution" against injustice and one must refuse to support something that is wrong. People should try to change these laws one way to do that is through peaceful resistance.
Throughout history, during the late 18th century, early and mid 19th century, and even today, many people peacefully resisted laws they felt attacked their rights as a U.S. citizen and as a human. Martin Luther King Jr., Rosa Parks, and even the entire city of Baltimore, have all used peaceful protest to rally against an unjust or unfair law or situation they felt was surpressing them from the rights they have been given. In there efforts of their protests, they have positively effected our country today by deminishing segregation, kick-starting a fight against racism for generations and counting, and a drive to find equality between all types of people.
Their second march included a thousand people and when they barely started marching a block away the police commissioner was waiting for them and brutally arrested 900 people. The next day 25,000 people came out to march including many children. This time instead of arresting them they sprayed water and let loose attack dogs.
Peaceful resistance to United States laws is a positive thing most of the time, but it can also very well have a negative impact. It is not right to condone or promote illegal activities, even if the people who commit the crime are willing to face the consequences. Protesting is a tremendous way for people to voice their opinion publicly in our free country. Although, disturbing the peace or taking violent actions can snowball from peaceful protesting. A lot of negative things have happened to people trying to people trying to voice their opinion.