Don’t get me wrong, freedom of religion is important to. It supports the right of a person or group to practice their religion in public or private. It also includes the freedom to change their religion or not follow one at all. This is very important because nobody should ever be told how to practice his or her own religion or what religion to follow. We're all different, and we all see religion differently.
Freedom of speech is essential part of democratic government tho. The only way truth can emerge is when there is an open competition of ideas. However, there is a strong support of censorship when people start mentioning extremely offensive opinions. Should the freedom of speech be limited in this case? Im my opinion, the answer is no. If liberty means anything at all, it means the right to tell people what they do not want to hear. If we want to enjoy the freedom fully, the full protection should be given to the freedom of speech. There are no compromises about it.
Freedom of speech protected by the First Amendment is not just a right, which can be declared or abolished. According to the “Liberty Theory”, proposed by some legal scholars, freedom of speech is an essential part of the liberty of every person, who pursues an individual self-determination and self-realization. There for, freedom of speech is also a part more global right to freedom of personal development and self-expression.
These rights are all important to us as American citizens. It’s why we can do, what we do, when we do it. Without the First Amendment there would be major difficulties trying to communicate your opinions from one person or place to another. You wouldn’t be able to change your religion, or even pick one, and the press would be completely controlled by the government which means bias opinions about other people and countries.
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