Neo Nazis And Free Speech
Neo-Nazi's are entitled to the same First Amendment rights under the Constitution as all other American citizens. Simply because a group expresses beliefs which are unpopular and generally considered to be "wrong" does not mean that the group is no longer entitled to free speech. When people are given true freedom of speech, it should be understood that there are always going to be differences in opinions, and that the opinions held by some people will almost invariably be seen as offensive to at least some other people. If the government were to try and censor everything that anyone felt was offensive, then eventually no one would be able to voice their opinion on anything anymore, and the problem with censoring Neo-Nazis and other extreme racist groups is that it opens the door to just this sort of thing. What's more, no one is being forced to listen to anything that the Neo-Nazi's have to say, so the argument that they are causing people irreparable "mental anguish" is just plain invalid because anyone who doesn't agree with what they have to say can just walk away. The people who think that the Neo-Nazi's should be censored simply because their ideas are hurtful to other people need to grow up an
d realize that words are just words. Although words can be hurtful at times, if someone says something that people find offensive, then they can just not listen, rather than crying to the government and asking it to hold their hands and protect them from the world. Also, by trying to take legal action to get Neo-Nazis censored, people are inadvertently helping the Neo-Nazi cause, because many more people will get exposed to Neo-Nazi ideas through the press that this generates than would be exposed if people decided to let them have their rallies and ignore what they have to say. Censorship has already gone to far in this country, from words which aren't allowed to be said on television or radio (after all, words are just a collection of sounds which represent an idea, and no one should have the right to say that certain ideas are not allowed to be thought, or communicated), to the well intentioned, though somewhat oppressive sexual harassment laws which have people being sued for complimenting their coworkers (when this sort of thing starts happening, you know you have a problem...). Censoring Neo-Nazi ideas would just be another step in the wrong direction, a step away from a society where people are free to think, believe and say whatever they want to, and it's really a sad thing when people aren't even free within the confines of their own minds. If someone says something which you find offensive, then you are free to tell them that you think they are wrong, and argue your p
Some common words found in the essay are:
Constitution American, United America, Censoring Neo-Nazi, , neo-nazi ideas, Neo-Nazis Amendment, amendment rights, Bibliography None, hate crimes, words words, beliefs people, free speech, public expression, unpopular beliefs,
Approximate Word count = 1012
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)
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