Another thing to consider is the freedom of choice that everyone has, which often refers to consumerism and business-related issues. While it is defined as ” Freedom of choice describes an individual’s opportunity and autonomy to perform an action selected from at least two available options, unconstrained by external parties.”, it can be done to invite people that would otherwise stay passive, to share their voice in what they care about. Furthermore, this simple idea of standing up for yourself can be applied to many everyday issues whether it be bullying, harassment, or seeking change as long as it is done in a civil manner that promotes change and not violence.

After examining both articles, it can be seen that the two authors have similar interests. Since both authors have discussed how the principles of freedom of speech are clear and basic for everyone to use, but can be either used in a way to put others down or to silence them. In addition, while free speech is something that both authors believe should be used to the degree in which the individual wishes to be used, but they both described examples of which either they or someone else has experienced, whether it may be the social pressures of what the consequences are or the large bias against an industry and the ease for others to attack those who work in such.

Another article that discusses the issue of free speech is “Who really has free speech? The past and future of the First Amendment”, by Shakira Hill. Inside the article the author discusses how she learned about the founding fathers and the freedoms that they gave the people of the country, but since she is a woman of color living in Mississippi, she felt naturally suppressed in high school due to the environment that she resided in by stating “I always desired to voice my pain that came from attending a school with that detrimental name, but I was terrified of the consequences and retaliation that I would be faced with by the citizens in my school district who “love” the Confederate history of the South.”, meaning that due to her surroundings and who she is, she felt that she should keep to herself since otherwise there would be a possibility of seeming as if she was going against the school, state, or country.

Who really has free speech? The past and future of the First Amendment
Shakira Hall – FIRE Intern
https://www.thefire.org/who-really-has-free-speech-the-past-and-future-of-the-first-amendment/

Since it is a large and general topic, there are countless examples of what others have to say about the issue and why, for example, one article that discusses that is “The Ongoing Challenge to Define Free Speech” by Stephen J. Wermiel. Within the article, the author discusses why free speech is and how there is nothing that can be considered hate speech in terms of the law by stating “Hateful speech that threatens or incites lawlessness or that contributes to motive for a criminal act may, in some instances, be punished as part of a hate crime, but not simply as offensive speech.”, this means that while hate crime is a crime and can be punished depending on what the actions are, hate speech is something that in a way is protected until a certain point.

The Ongoing Challenge to Define Free Speech
by Stephen J. Wermiel
https://www.americanbar.org/groups/crsj/publications/human_rights_magazine_home/the-ongoing-challenge-to-define-free-speech/the-ongoing-challenge-to-define-free-speech/

With the recent rise in activism, there is sure to be popular movements who use their freedom of speech to protest current issues that they feel should be addressed. For example, the rise in one group is March for Our Lives, which is a movement that is protesting gun violence, especially relating to school shootings.

March for Our Lives
https://marchforourlives.com/

If you were to believe that you shouldn’t use your right to free speech because of any backlash you might face from radicals, then you’d be mistaken. I know what you might be thinking, “who cares”, “I don’t want to be political” , or “what’s the point” and those are valid reasons as to why you wouldn’t want to openly advocate for whatever your beliefs are. However, if you could take away one thing from this blog, it should be at least to understand the rising tension within the political climate and how it is ruining our ability to openly share our opinion because of backlash and grouping.

It’s a tough question to ask, what can you really do on your own. What can you say about having an opinion or just believing something. Well the answer to the question is that it is something that cant just be solved by doing nothing or to just not share, since the issue is that people who believe something face pressure from others from topics that can either be very or not political at all, there needs to be a sense of communication through respectable way in order to listen to what someone has to say and then, if so, agree or disagree respectively. This is a simple thing to do that may seem like a normal thing to do when speaking to someone, but during these times that is incorrect and it can be easy to see for yourself. If you don’t believe this, take the time to google or just type into YouTube “angry trump supporter compilation” or “liberal compilation” and just think about how while this may be a video, what if someone did the same thing outside this very building, what would different students respond with based off their different beliefs.

There are many reasons why you should be invested in the idea of using your right to free speech as much as you could. For example, if you wanted to, you could compare the situation you’re facing compared with others around the globe, where some don’t have any rights, let alone free speech. Also, when you look at what you could do with just doing simple things like just saying something you believe in, it could inspire others that have a similar belief/mindset to join you in what you believe in and perhaps follow your example. In addition, it is important to look at the fact that if you give someone the time to say what they’re feeling or believe then it leads to a positive interaction because of the fact that you’ve shown the ability to be open-minded.

In recent years, especially since 2015, people have been sharing their opinions more than ever. When growing up, I have never really cared or consider the importance of having an opinion or voice for issues that arose politically, instead just considering it not worth the struggle if it was against the majority and didn’t bother if it was the majority because it was more popular anyways. However, with the rising political climate going to one on two sides, I became interested in another option because as time was going on there was a line that was being drawn in the sand and if you didn’t pick one side then you didn’t really get to say anything.

When looking through recent events, it has never been more apparent now that people have an idea that they should be allowed to express and pursue their beliefs. With the definition of free speech being ” the right to express any opinions without censorship or restraint,” it is important to know what is included and how to use your basic right without worry. Unfortunately, with rising political tension from all sides, it can be difficult to say something without either being forced into or cast away from an ideology based off one belief. Furthermore, if you were to learn even the slightest more about what you should and could be able to express yourself without conforming to certain pre existing groups.