FREE ESSAY ON RIGHT TO THINK

RIGHT TO THINK

You Can't Say That!?!
In a time of such progress and cultural diversity, one would thing that certain human
rights would be honored and kept unfettered by laws. These human rights are some of the
most basic elements having your own free will. But as time goes by, some of these rights
are diminishing. When our forefathers wrote the Bill of Rights, they put the more
important of these rights first, freedom of speech. 
Back in the late eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, people had to watch what they say
about the government, make sure they were practicing an approved religion, and could not
voice there personal views for fear of being persecuted. Before the Bill of Rights,
failure to adhere to the "standard" was grounds for punishment. Our forefathers say this
travesty lay upon the people of other lands and swore that in the new land there would be
no prejudice on personal views. By inputting these beliefs into the Constitution, they
also laid the grounds for other human rights laws. If the freedom of speech amendment
were not in the constitution, many of the theories and statements in the document would
not "hold water." 
In today's society we hold that amendment almost sacredly. Every day someone else is
trying to ban something they do not like or feel it is unsuited for society. These people
are taking away what was given to us over two hundred years ago. The amendment calls for
freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom to assemble peacefully and freedom to
petition grievances. With this being ratified in 1791, the writers knew that as the years
went on it would take on different meanings, that is why it was written so generally. But
if it is written so generally, why are people trying to censor things?
The hardest hit industry in the war on censorship is the media. Newscasters are not
allowed to say certain words on the air even though it is the exact description of what
happened. Works of art and masterpieces such as Michelangelo's "David" is being censored
because it is considered "vulgar." But who makes these decisions? What may me considered
vulgar to one person maybe considered modest to another. That is another reason our
forefathers wrote this amendment. Allowing all forms of art, religion, media, and other
person-to-person mediums allows people to learn about each other. The more people learn,
the less they hate and fear. As Tommy Lee Jones said in the Sony Pictures release of Men
in Black, "A person is smart, understanding and realistic, People are dumb, panicky, and
apprehensive creatures." Even though this quote is from a movie, it brings out a big
truth. A person can make up there own decisions, but as soon as someone else takes away
that one feature that separates us from the rest of the animals on this planet, society
reacts violently. 
In conclusion, our forefathers knew that freedom of free will, which is what freedom of
speech, religion, gathering, and protesting is all about, is one of those features that
humans are given at birth. To remove a man's right to think for himself is a fate worse
then death.