Reply to "A moderators work is never done"

Jimmy03 and CPLZ have to absolutely correct on freedom of speech and what role it plays with government versus private individuals. Without coming across as a jerk I would like to ask how many of you actually read and researched the first amendment? As a teacher of social studies I come across many kids who have heard "Freedom of Speech" but they have no earthly idea what it means. They look at it from the simplistic viewpoint - ability to say whatever you want. But if that was actually true how do you explain slander being a criminal offense?

Please go to this website and read over it. It happens to be one of the best I've come across that explains what freedom of speech means.

First Amendment - Freedom of Speech

Here is cut and pasted what the first amendment says from that website

quote:

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or 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.

Here is the explanation of freedom of speech from that website.

quote:

Let’s examine the freedom-of-speech clause of the First Amendment. Contrary to what many people think, the free-speech guarantee operates only as a barrier to censorship by government officials, not on the right of private entities to refrain from publishing material they don’t like.

For example, consider a newspaper that publishes an article favoring a certain policy in the community. Imagine that opponents to that policy demand that the newspaper carry an article opposing the policy and that the newspaper refuses to do so.

Some people would undoubtedly cry, “Censorship!” and claim that the First Amendment was being violated. They would be wrong on both counts. Restrictions on the exercise of free speech are censorship and First Amendment violations only when some law or governmental action is involved. When private entities make personal decisions about what to publish and not publish, they are exercising the fundamental rights of private ownership and liberty — the types of rights whose exercise the government is supposed to protect.

I'm not trying to come off as some know it all jerk but American rights are not a simple concept. It takes work and effort to maintain what we have and without education the government will take these away from us. The first step towards establishing a dictatorship is making the populace uneducated. Without education the people have to rely on the government for everything.