Freedom of Speech: Bitter Sweet

The First Amendment of the U.S Constitution reads, "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances." This Amendment represents America and represents a lot of what we as Americans stand for. This Amendment makes us very different from most countries. Being able to practice your beliefs, have petitions, assemble peacefully, and be able to express your opinion is something Americans are very fortunate to have. One particular freedom in the First Amendment I would like to touch on is, Freedom of Speech. Having Freedom of Speech is beneficial freedom but can also have many downfalls. Freedom of Speech allows us to speak our opinion freely.  If you believe there is wrong going on around the world, Freedom of speech allows you to express your concerns, beliefs, and opinions openly. One benefit of Freedom of Speech is if people do not like what you have to say, you can still speak your mind without being fined or getting jail time as long as your not threatening somebody. I think that us Americans takes this freedom for granted. In other countries, they are not so lucky. people can face jail time or death if they speak against their government or that countries religion. I think Americans have gotten so use to having this freedom that it is now expected rather then appreciated.  Freedom of speech is something that can benefit  everyone. Freedom of Speech means that every person has the same right to say what they are feeling, regardless of how wealthy or improvised they are. However, Freedom of Speech has its cons as well. I can think of several ways Freedom of Speech can be very harmful and hurtful to people. One example is, extremist groups that utilize their Freedom of Speech rights to protect their "right" to say misleading, hateful, and just simply mean words. Social media is a tool that can utilizes this freedom in a negative way. Satire pages are created "just for fun' that are absolutely hateful. One page I came across was a page dedicated to shaming women that have had C-sections. The page stated that a women was not truly a mother if she allowed the doctor to do a C-section. They even went as far as to say that women should of just died along with the child if that was the way it had to be. They even called for the member of the page to call CPS on women that have had C-sections because they were more likely to neglect their children. Obviously this page had a huge out pour of negative feedback and reports to Facebook. The page still remains because of Freedom of Speech. Bullying on social media has gotten out of control all in the name of Freedom of Speech. Of course these bullies attribute their actions to their First Amendment. People have been driven to depression and even suicide because of peoples Freedom of Speech. I think caution and care should be exercised when we decide to use our Freedom of Speech. Our freedoms should not supersede someone else peace of mind. I think here in America it teeters on a thin line of going to far with our freedoms. Freedom of Speech should be something we should never take for granted or take advantage of in a negative way. You never know when these rights will be taken away from you. You never know what you have until you lose it.

NSPCC

This ad was founded by NSPCC , which stands for National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty of Children. When you look at this ad, you see the statement that says "One day a dog dug up a yummy bone. He didn't chase my cat Fred." At face value, it just seems like a simple cute child writing about his/her dog and cat. However, in the writing you see a hidden message. The secret message reads, "Daddy hits me. As soon as you read the message you know exactly what the Ad is trying to convey. This ad is very simple yet effective. At the moment a reader uncovers the secret message, I would imagine a sadness creeps over them. The thought of innocence being lost at the hand of a father is heartbreaking. The thought that the person a child trust to protect them is the one hurting them is gut wrenching. Even though the ad is simple, I think there are images that flashes through the readers head. What images do you have going through your head right now? Maybe a sad child emotionally broken with his head hung low. Maybe he is looking up at you with tears in his black and blue eyes. Those images ran through my head. It enticed me to look up child abuse. I found that every 10 seconds a report of child abuse is reported. That is just the reported abuse. Think about how many go unnoticed. The amount of child abuse reported in 2012 was an estimated 686,000. That would fill a football stadium 10 times. That is  staggering numbers. Again, that is only reported abuse. Our most vulnerable citizens are being abused. citizens that might not be able to speak for them selves or might be to scared. I think that is why the statement on the bottom of the ad is important. It reads,"If you don't listen, you wont hear them." This is huge. I would imagine that the reader's thoughts are provoked. Hopefully they are thinking what they can do to hear the little voices or notice the signs of child abuse. Hopefully, it invoked a sense of responsibility that it is their problem too. That message implies that as adults we should pay attention to the signs of a child being abused. It is a responsibility of a community. Overall, I think the ad was powerful through imagery that provoked emotion.