Is there a right to free speech? Social Sciences Essay

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Is there a Right to Free Speech?
Freedom of speech is one of the treasured rights that every person in a democratic country like the United States is entitled to enjoy. The constitution provides for free speech, even though there are cases when this right is threated by the government and learning institutions. Article nineteen of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights states that every person has a right to access information, express opinion, and impart ideas from any source without external interference. Free speech has only remained theoretically possible. Every attempt to access this right has however, faced limitations, especially considering that too much freedom interferes with the rights of others. Free speech is partial, when it needs to be absolute. This paper argues that there is a right to free speech and there is no need for censorship and regulations.
The right to free speech means that everyone is free to access information, search for ideas and opinions, or share what one wishes, and disseminate it to others without facing threats. In a country where the right to free speech is respected, people should be free to access every type of information and sharing their opinions and ideas without facing censorships. Media censorship has become a threat to free speech. Censorship of media undermines free speech, considering that everyone is entitled to enjoy their rights without threats from others. According to McGowan, free speech entails both actions and words (769). Actions involve a person wearing the a T-shirt with some writings that communicate a message, wearing a hat supporting a politician, or even putting on wrist bands critiquing or supporting a politician. When taken in the spoken context, proponents of free speech would argue for freedom to associate and interact with others irrespective of a person’s political orientation. The government has, however, played an undermining role when it comes to free speech. The constitution provides for equal protection under the law. Even if people do not wish to subscribe to ideas of a person, they have the right to respect the person and choose what they wish to listen to. In the recent past, the topic of abortion has become a debatable debate in mainstream media and the real life. Regulation and censorship has become the order of the day, even when it is evident that regulation and censorship interferes with the right to free speech. Proponents of censorship and regulation of pornography argue that it interferes with the moral standards of the society. They propose that pornography should be banned even in private, especially because it interferes with the moral standards of the society and religious principles that the society has cultivated for ages. What these proponents fail to realize is that people have the right to choose what is right. A mature person has learned to discriminate between what is right and what is morally wrong. If watching pornographic materials provides one with a sense of satisfaction, then nobody has a moral right to lift or suspend this right. People should only focus on the outcomes of behavior.
While the argument above seeks to provide a sense of satisfaction for pe...