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Amber Martinez

Gardner

English 10H

29 November 2016

Letter To The President

Dear President Trump,

My name is Amber Martinez. I am a 15-year-old sophomore at Casa Grande High, a

future voter in the state of California, and most importantly, an American citizen. I consider

myself blessed to born in a first-world country like the United States, where I have opportunities,

freedom, and access to basic rights: the right to liberty, the right to freedom of expression, the

right to freedom of religion, the right to vote, and the right to freedom of speech. In my opinion,

freedom of speech is our most important right possible, because it allows us to speak our minds,

form our own opinions, and stand up for what we believe in.

However, these rights may be threatened in the near future, as many millennials believe

that freedom of speech and what it represents is outdated. In a 2013 survey conducted by the

Newseum Institute, 34% of Americans say that the First Amendment goes too far in the rights it

guarantees, which was a 21% increase from the previous year (Newseum 1). A study conducted

by the Pew Research Center shows that 40% of millennials, 27% of Gen X, 24% of Boomers,
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and 12% of Silents think that the government should be able to stop Americans from making

offensive remarks to minorities. (Pew 1) This seems like a silver lining on the outside, but in

limiting our freedom of speech, we limit our rights.

In the same survey conducted by Pew, it is shown that Americans as a whole are less

likely to want to censor speech, with only 28% agreeing with the censorship, as compared to

Germany, with 70%, and Italy, with 62% (Pew 2). However, the 40% still remains, and the risk

of losing our freedom of speech remains with it.

Many will argue that freedom of speech is problematic to the progressive nature of our

country. Its true that freedom of speech makes it easy people to make hateful, offensive, and

rude comments about Hispanics, blacks, women, and other demographics in our country. But we

cannot give up essential parts of our most basic right in order to silence those that we disagree

with. We must protect our freedom of speech, as it is vital to protecting our rights as Americans.

In order to protect this right, Mr. President, we have to make sure that our voices are never

silenced, that our opinions are always heard, and that speech remains an open ideology for all the

citizens of this wonderful country.

As a teenager, I can only do so much to make a change in our country, and freedom of

speech allows me to voice opinions and concerns just as much as any adult and to lose that right

would be the end of the freedom that America stands for. Mr. President, I can only hope that you

wont let our voices be silenced, and that our freedom of speech will be protected during your
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presidency- not just for me, but for all men, women, children, people of color, and other

minorities that would otherwise be silenced. Because we are all Americans, and we all deserve a

voice.

Thank you and sincerely, Amber Martinez