The First Amendment of the Constitution gives us the freedom of speech, yet in today’s society, I question if we really have it. It seems that everyday something is said on the news or posted on social media that offends someone. I understand how there are some things that are said that shouldn’t be because it is actually offensive to someone, but for a person to get offended by every little thing makes me feel as if our freedom of speech doesn’t really exist.
Think about it this way: when the government made gay marriage legal throughout the United States there were a number of Christians that were offended and when they spoke their minds people who supported gay marriage were offended. This topic kept going in a huge circle of Christians getting offended, speaking their mind, and then supporters getting offended and speaking their mind. While we have freedom of speech and anyone can speak their mind on anything happening in society, it seems that someone will get offended and start the circle of speaking their mind and then someone else will become offended. As proud as I am to be an American, I don’t really feel that I can speak my mind in fear of making someone think that I'm writing was about them or insulting someone just because I have a different opinion.
I know these words are most likely going to get some comments saying that we do have freedom of speech; after all, I had the freedom to write this. But just because I could write this doesn’t mean that we have full freedom in our speech. If I was to go and write a story about how I came to Christ someone would be affronted about how I’m a Christian and publicly shared my story even though there are people out there who don’t believe in God. I could also go and write about how I think women and men should be paid the same and there will still be that one person who won’t necessarily agree with me and have a counter argument. Debating someone on an issue is OK as long as you’re not telling them that something is wrong just because you don’t agree with them.
Another way our freedom of speech seems to be limited is through comedy. We hear comedians always cracking jokes about different things and some of their jokes can be classified as racist yet people still laugh and find it funny. However, if your average, everyday person is telling a joke similar to one like a famous comedian it is considered to be racist. How is it that just because someone is standing up on a stage being paid to make people laugh can say a joke that is racist or borderline racist yet gets away with it? Does a person have to be famous to have freedom of speech?
Based on different things I have read on social media that are considered to be “offensive," it sounds like people just need to grow a thicker skin. Everything that we say or write has the possibility of coming across as racist and/or offensive. It’s a normal thing in life, so why be so thinned skinned that anything a person says offends you? If it does offend you for a good reason then let that person know in a calm manner. We are supposed to have freedom of speech yet in today’s society it really seems that we constantly have to watch what we say.
