Is Freedom Of Speech Limited?

 With the world of politics continuously changing, lines have become blurred when it comes to constitutional rights. The constitution was set in stone to help guide and set order among the people that live in this country. America may be the land of the free, but that freedom also has to come with not breaking laws either. In today's world, I feel that the "freedom" has been very limited and that it has become very one-sided, who gets to have that freedom of expression? Who is "allowed" to have a voice? Who is "allowed" to have an opinion?

What is the first amendment?

For the people that have studied history at their schools, people know that the first amendment has to do with freedom of speech. If we were to look at that amendment in depth, according to the Legal Information Institute, 

    "The First Amendment guarantees freedoms concerning religion, expression, assembly, and the right to petition. It forbids Congress from both promoting one religion over others and also restricting an individual’s religious practices. It guarantees freedom of expression by prohibiting Congress from restricting the press or the rights of individuals to speak freely. It also guarantees the right of citizens to assemble peaceably and to petition their government" (Legal).

This amendment tells me that everyone that is a citizen or visitor in the United States is allowed to express their opinions and values. It also says, Congress cannot limit one's speech, even if they do not agree with a person's views and perspective.

Has the first amendment been broken?

Democrat Perspective

In 2016, gay marriage was made legal in all 50 states, the #MeToo movement has encouraged more women to speak up about their sexual assault and will not be heavily judged for it. I believe that times have changed to where people are becoming more outspoken about the struggles that they go through with these issues. When a woman said that she was sexually assaulted before the #MeToo movement became a thing, people did not believe it. They would always question why the girl voluntarily put herself in that position rather than questioning the guy's actions. #BlackLivesMatter was another BIG movement that blew up wanting more representation of Blacks, the awareness of police brutality, and other things.

Most minorities are also getting representation in the media and are also able to educate others about their cultures and values. Television shows like Blackish and Fresh Off The Boat were all starred by minorities. More recently, reality game shows like Big Brother, The Amazing Race, and others have been adding more Blacks, Asians, Muslims, etc. to have a chance to win prizes. 

I did a survey on my Instagram since most of my followers on there are leaning Left. They believe that Freedom of Speech is not limited towards one side. I also had an area where people put their political stance and it was coming from people who were in the middle leaning towards the left, it seems that they see both sides and that they respect the other side. Very few of them got canceled for their beliefs which I do not find surprising. Most of this country is Liberal, so I can see why the numbers are so low among those who go with the majority. A good percentage wished that the other side would understand their views, but did not have to agree with them. 

Republican Perspective

They definitely think that the first amendment has been violated multiple times. Freedom of any sort of expression has been limited to a point where, if your values and ideas do not agree or align with the other side, you do not exist and you're the enemy! If any person talks about how they love America, they're automatically labeled as a privileged asshole, which is hypocritical because I thought that Liberals didn't like labels? 

**Cancel culture is definitely a topic that ties into freedom of speech, but that's for a later topic.**

Companies like Amazon, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, etc have a way of favoring Left agendas which people think is unfair. For example, February is Black History Month, Amazon has a way of heavily promoting Black owned businesses in our faces constantly! I get that they're all about representation, but how much is too much unnecessary shoving? Every June, companies change their logos to match the pride month rainbow scheme, which now has also added pink, blue, white, black, and brown, seriously, the amount of colors on one flag is overwhelming.

Before Donald J. Trump left office, his Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram were suspended! The Left celebrated their "victory" while the Right were infuriated! It is appalling to see the lengths that these companies would go to, to please the majority into what they want. It's like giving a toddler a new toy so they would stop whining and causing mayhem. The kid won't learn what they did wrong, and neither will the Left if someone does not put them in their place. Trump is currently suing those companies for violating his first amendment right and for censoring the American people.

I asked the same exact questions as I did, except it's on Twitter where a majority of my followers are right leaning. They believe that freedom of speech is DEFINITELY favored to one side, and it's definitely NOT there's. Republicans are constantly being silenced and ignored by the other party and they are absolutely tired of it. Can they get any say in any of the issues that are happening with society? No, because they will automatically be a target by the Left and the Left will keep attacking them constantly until their voice is silenced. A majority of the people that answered the questions were "Paleo-Conservative", meaning extremely right winged. A majority of the Republicans have been canceled because of their political stance, which definitely sucks! I definitely am in that majority.

My Final Thoughts

This bullshit is fucking nuts! Everybody has a right to their opinions and values. When it comes to politics, there's no right or wrong way to view the world, it's how you involve yourself to attempt to make America better as well as handling yourself when others disagree with you. If you can accept people for their favorite color, foods, music, etc. you can accept them for their politics. As for the question in the title of this post, YES freedom of speech is very limited and heavily favored towards the Left. 

In the Pledge of Allegiance, it says "One nation, under God", our COUNTRY is called the United States of America, we're ALL part of this nation and we ALL need to figure out a way to live peacefully in this world without creating violence and destruction. We need to find a way to unite and accept each other's differences, if we don't, our free nation will fall apart.......LIBERALS! For real though, I have NEVER met a Conservative where they did not accept the other side's views.