It is never appropriate for our government
to restrict freedom for speech
PREMISES
Yes,
freedom of speech should not be restricted because everyone has their own
rights to speak out their opinion on anything. Freedom of speech itself is
basically giving opinion about the country, so everyone would have their own
chance to voice their thinking. “We are a nation of laws, some of which we
don’t agree with, but supposedly protect us and benefit us. Freedom of speech
is contained in the Bill of Rights, the First Amendment to the Constitution, so
obviously it’s pretty important, and apparently more complicated than I
thought”, (Mason,2018). This means that it is important for us as a citizen to
criticize about the country because sometimes others would not realize the real
issue or problem in the country.
If
the government restrict freedom of speech, it will create a huge gap between
the ruler and the citizens. Both sides need each other in terms of support and
help and a ruler supposed to voice out the citizens’ thought in order to
achieve harmony state. If the ruler ignores his people’s opinion, then how he
can communicate well with them? Timms (2016) stated that, “free speech is not only
about your ability to speak but the ability to listen to others and allow other
views to be heard. It is important for the government to take concern of the citizen’s
well-being. The citizen’s contributions are everywhere in the aspects to make a
country grow. If the citizens are unhappy, how a country can work as usual when
the energy that comes from it are mostly from human.” The government need to
make sure the citizens can voice out their words so it is not appropriate for
the government to restrict the freedom for speech
COUNTER ARGUMENTS
Government should always restrict the freedom of
speech because if it is not restricted, it is a very dangerous thing and can
bring to the country’s doom. Young people will discover profanity earlier than
they should and it might influence their thinking with bad stuffs that are
already happening such as extremists, homosexuals and more. It can also make
countries to declare war on each other. If not a war, in the country itself
there will be thousands of protests, riots and outbreaks that will come when
the government does not restrict freedom of speech. It is inevitable that
protests will rise but it is at least being governed by law instead of blindly
being free from it. “With this newfound freedom,
discussions and criticisms about race and religion, for better or worse, have
become widespread online, and it is understandable that some may be
uncomfortable about open discussions of such sensitive subjects. Others may
feel defensive of their religious or racial identity, and upset that others are
seemingly dismissive of what is an integral part of their person and identity”,
Paulsen (2019) which clearly shows that freedom of speech brings harm effect to
the society and also the country.
The restriction of freedom of speech is a good way to protect the
peacefulness of the country from being judged by its own citizens and prevent
from being colonized by the invaders. Besides, most of the people are actually
criticizing from what they saw without any strong evidence. If it has, the
would point out emotionally and aggressively which will bring more consequences
towards the country’s safety. Sometimes, there will be a group of people that
intentionally create chaos and riots just to trigger society’s trust towards
the government. It will not only divide the unity; the government also will be
overthrown.
References
Mason, T. (2018,
February 15). Freedom of Speech Restrictions. Retrieved from
https://owlcation.com/social-sciences/Some-Freedom-of-Speech-Needs-Restrictions
Paulsen, E. (2019, January 6). Take freedom of speech seriously. The Star Online. Retrieved from https://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2019/01/06/take-freedom-of-speech-seriously-we-cannot-legislate-away-our-fundamental-problems-and-we-certainly/
Timms, J. (2016, April 13). Why is free speech important?. Retrieved from https://www.indexoncensorship.org/2016/04/free-speech-important/