Essay About Personal Freedoms And Supreme Court

First Amendment
First Amendment
No other democratic society in the world permits personal freedoms to the
degree of the United States of America. Within the last sixty years, American
courts, especially the Supreme Court, have developed a set of legal doctrines
that thoroughly protect all forms of the freedom of expression. When it comes to
evaluating the degree to which we take advantage of the opportunity to express
our opinions, some members of society may be guilty of violating the bounds of
the First Amendment by publicly offending others through obscenity or racism.
Americans have developed a distinct disposition toward the freedom of expression
throughout history. The First Amendment clearly voices a great American respect
toward the freedom of religion. It also prevents the government from
“abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the
people peaceably to assemble and to petition the Government for a redress of
grievances.” Since the early history of our country, the protection of
basic freedoms has been of the utmost importance to Americans. In Langston
Hughes poem, “Freedom,” he emphasizes the struggle to enjoy the
freedoms that he knows are rightfully his. He reflects the American desire for
freedom now when he says, “I do not need my freedom when Im dead. I cannot
live on tomorrows bread.” He recognizes the need for freedom in its
entirety without compromise or fear. I think Langston Hughes captures the
essence of the American immigrants quest for freedom in his poem,
“Freedoms Plow.” He accurately describes Americans as arriving with
nothing but dreams and building America with the hopes of finding greater
freedom or freedom for the first time. He depicts how people of all backgrounds
worked together for one cause: freedom. I selected Ray Bradburys Fahrenheit 451
as a fictitious example of the evils of censorship in a world that is becoming
illiterate. In this book, the government convinces the public that book reading
is evil because it spreads harmful opinions and agitates people against the
government. The vast majority of people accept this censorship of expression
without question and are content to see and hear only the governments
propaganda. I found this disturbing yet realistic. Bradburys hidden opposition
to this form of censorship was apparent throughout the book and finally
prevailed in the end when his main character rebelled against the practice of
burning books. Among the many forms of protests are pickets, strikes, public
speeches and rallies. Recently in New Jersey, more than a thousand community
activists rallied to draft a “human” budget that puts the needs of the
poor and handicapped as a top priority. Rallies are an effective means for
people to use their freedoms effectively to bring about change from the
government. Freedom of speech is constantly being challenged as is evidenced in
a recent court case where a Gloucester County school district censored reviews
of two R-rated movies from a school newspaper. Superior Court Judge, Robert E.
Francis ruled that the students rights were violated under the state
Constitution. I feel this is a major break through for students rights because
it limits editorial control of school newspapers by educators and allows
students