Find Freedom of Speech Essay

This essay includes a discussion of the analysis of freedom of speech and community safety. Freedom of speech is a fundamental human right so is community safety. It is believed by many that freedom of speech is the freedom everyone should have. However, freedom of speech should be limited because some speeches cause harm and discomfort to individuals and communities for the sake of community safety.

Freedom of speech is one of human’s fundamental rights hence, everyone should have the right to freedom of speech. Freedom of speech is the right to express opinions without being afraid of police arrest. Although there are a few countries that do not allow citizens to have freedom of speech, many countries have applied freedom of speech. Countries like North Korea, and Syria which is under authoritarianism do not have freedom of speech. Even the word “freedom of speech” might not exist in their “brain dictionary”. 2. Accordingly, countries that have known freedom of speech and are more open-minded (democratic) tend to support freedom of speech as they are democratic countries. Data based collected by The Justitia Free Speech Index indicated that among the 33 countries surveyed, Scandinavians and Americans are most supportive of free speech, while, Russians, Muslim-majority nations, and the least socio-economically developed nations show low levels of support. Subsequently on December 10th, 1984, UNHCR declared that in article 19 “Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.” Therefore, everyone should have the right to freedom of speech.

Community safety is important for humans to feel safe at home, workplace, and neighborhood. Community safety is not just injury or crime prevention physically. It is also about communities having a healthy life emotionally. There is very little research or studies done on community safety. Studies on how community safety should be a priority for humans should be done. This is supported by a website of Northampton posted that “Community safety relates to the quality of life and being able to pursue and obtain the fullest benefits from your domestic, social and economic lives without fear or hindrance from crime and disorder.” Hence, community safety should be prioritized for humans to live in safe and comfortably.

Many accept that emotional pain is as painful as or even worse than physical pain. Thus, freedom of speech that may cause emotional pain, as well as physical pain, should be limited. Freedom of speech is a fundamental right for humans however if there are no limitations to it, it will cause harm to other individuals. Fortunately, the first amendment of the U.S. constitution does not protect “fighting words, threats, and inciting violence”. Cyberbullies are very popular nowadays as it is a digital world. It is confirmed by VJR consulting that tweens (preteens) have been experiencing bullies. There were 1,034 tweens who responded. Among them, 816, which is about 80% of the students had been exposed to bullying. About 15% of them were cyberbullied as 90% of the tweens have their own devices which allow them to use social media and play games. These kinds of cyberbullies are usually written or spoken by predators. Social media allow everyone to post what the users want to, which allows predators to do what they please (freedom of speech). There is a report button, yet although it is reported it does not completely stop the predator. This leads to harm an individual by being cyberbullied. There is no clear research or study done on this so, more studies should be done on how community safe and freedom of speech relate to each other and which one people prioritize more. Consequently, hates speeches and false speeches should be limited. A young man “called 911 and falsely reported a hostage situation,” and then, “the SWAT team dispatched and unintentionally, killed an innocent man who had no idea what was going on” just because of the false speech that a young man spoke. To avoid, situations where false speeches, hate speeches, or speeches that would harm other individuals, freedom of speech should be limited.

In conclusion, freedom of speech that causes harm and discomfort to society should be restricted. In summary, freedom of speech is a fundamental right of humans and so is community safety as it is part of living in safe. Hence, speeches that harm individuals should be restricted to protect the community. There might be no solution for this as humans are unpredictable and so is what is going to happen. Therefore, a solution to solve freedom of speech’s harm to community safety should be studied on.