Freedom of Speech

Freedom of speech is one of America's most cherished rights, guaranteed by the first amendment to the U.S. Constitution. However, in recent years there have been a number of attempts to limit speech, such as the Federal Communication Commission's efforts to censor radio personality Howard Stern, codes banning sexist or racist speech on college campuses, and Congressional actions to control access to pornography on the Internet. Some believe there should be absolutely no limits on what people are permitted to say in public. Others argue that some forms of expression are so dangerous that the society must limit freedom of speech in order to protect itself.

For example, in a computer classroom, a student was trying to do research on the Ku Klux Klan. When he did his web search, the first page that came up was the home page of the Ku Klux Klan itself. A student from Hong Kong who was observing said "How can the American government allow such an organization to have a web page?" Another student explained that because of freedom of speech, even a racist organization like the K.K.K. can express its views.

In a well-organized essay, answer the following question:

What limits, if any, do you believe there should be on freedom of speech? In answering this question use at least one specific example from your experience, observation, or knowledge.

In answering this question, you may want to compare freedom of speech in the United States with free speech standards in another country with which you are familiar.