1

A Misunderstood Constitutional Right

Name
Institutional Affiliation
Course
Instructor
Date
A MISUNDERSTOOD CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHT 2

A Misunderstood Constitutional Right

Freedom of Speech is a right contained in the First Amendment of the constitution. It

refers to the privileged power or the right to express one's opinions without considering legal

penalty, restraint, or censorship. Many people mistake and misunderstand the right itself,

branding them outlaws for lacking information on the limitations of human rights. Freedom of

Speech is a fundamental right and has limitations as compulsory legislative free speech prohibits

speech that threatens others, revolting, or criticizes other people. In modern society, both the

citizens and the media have crossed congressional boundaries when it comes to Freedom of

Speech. It is worthwhile to know that Freedom of Speech is the foundation of explanations,

rationality, and logic.

In current political wars, many politicians and government critics have taken upon

themselves to exceed the powers offered by the Freedom of Speech. Take, for instance, a

narration by Easterbrook(2001) of Robert Jensen, a Texas University professor. He called the

United States a terrorist nation and went on to state that the American Policy in Afghanistan as a

war of lies. The professor further noted that a small, secretive authority wished to gather power

by tricking the public into agreeing with anti-terrorism policies that, for decades has hidden the

real truths on the aggressive acts of the United States government. Mr. Jensen's attempt to

exercise got him on the slightly rough track as he became unpopularised in Texas. Texas

University president termed the speech as the fountain of undiluted foolishness. In contrast, the

professor's supporters claim the authority wanted to suppress Mr. Jensen's freedom of speech.

But this backing misunderstands the nature of Free Speech as the professor's expression is

protected and political, there is no right to exclude from the reaction of his claims.
A MISUNDERSTOOD CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHT 3

Freedom of Speech as a right allows imparting information and ideas of every kind,

seeking and receiving information from any source or person. Therefore Free Speech does not

guarantee to speak whatever you want and whenever you wish to do so. The Information and

Ideas expressed may be offensive and unconstitutional, especially in cases where there is no

concrete proof of what you are saying. Freedom of Speech comes with legislative restrictions

and responsibilities. According to Easterbrook(2001), the right first enacting was in the Bill of

Rights. Its amendment meant to shield and offer speakers from imprisonment for anti-

governmental opinions. Besides the exceeding the legislative right would lead to ostracism,

denunciation, and loss of employment. In most circumstances, speech's freedom has restrictions,

and the government must prohibit any acts of hate speech and public incitement. The limits

justification basing is on attempting to protect public interests or other individuals' reputations in

society.

The misunderstanding of free speech, founded on two perspectives, is philosophical and

the other, unfortunately, practical in today's world. Malik(2019) explains the philosophical

disagreement is that free speech is good in itself rather than a means to another good. There is no

reason as to why free speech is good in itself since how can babbling of billions of people be

useful for its own sake. Conversely, it is a plausible argument that bases on human nature or

psychology, people like to express themselves. The other more practical misunderstanding of

free speech in modern society is that the internet discussion boards and related platforms are free

speech forums. Most of the sites fail to censor speech, so people engaging in conversations in the

platform face no restriction on their right to freedom of speech. Free speech today is an

intentionally crafted illusion, more so than genuine free speech. The two are the significant
A MISUNDERSTOOD CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHT 4

reasons why people misunderstand speech's democracy and make mistakes in saying whatever

they feel, whenever time and place they wish.

Numerous people think the right to freedom of speech is absolute and has no limitations.

A statement has legislative limitations, and the factors considered are many, including the

intention of the speaker, availability of backing evidence, and the reaction of the information

relayed. In the digital age, the limits of the right of freedom of speech continue to be

controversial due to the invention of more communication platforms and public opinions on what

is or not mentionable in forums. The general mistake of moral rights is to express unpopular

views at the cost of other people's reputation, but this is not a moral right to express such

opinions as it endangers others and exposes them to violence(Malik, 2019). However, it is

essential to note that legally speaking, no right is completely absolute and has no restrictions.

The law mandates that every bill has a loophole.

The government and legislative authorities have implemented legal measures to penalize

the outlaws of freedom of speech on instances of incitement or public hate speech. The general

mistakes the moral right to express unpopular opinions at the cost of other people's reputation,

but this is not a moral right to express such views as it endangers others and exposes them to

violence. The free speech misconceptions have no place in our society, and although most go

unpunished, we must practice the right according to the law. Freedom of speech has limits and

restrictions, considering legislative measures and penalties enforcement against all those found to

have broken the boundaries of the government's right.

A MISUNDERSTOOD CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHT 5

References

Easterbrook, G. (2001). Free speech Doesn't Come Without Cost, Brookings, Retrieved 20 May

2020 from, https://www.brookings.edu/opinions/free-speech-doesnt-come-without-cost/

Malik, N. (2019). The myth of free speech Crisis, The Guardian, Retrieved 20 May 2020 from,

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/sep/03/the-myth-of-the-free-speech-crisis