Hypocrisy in Democracy Essay

Freedom of Speech Silence What is democracy? Democracy is a form of government where the people rule, not a dictator, a king or aristocrats. Democracy means that people have a say in law and state. This is impossible to do without a voice. How are people supposed to run the government if they aren’t allowed to speak their mind? This is hypocrisy. That is like telling someone they can travel where ever they want as long as it is in this little box. Our voice is the most important tool and weapon that we have possession of. Without our voice, we are nothing. American is â€Å"the land of the free and the home of the brave† or at least it is supposed to be. Certain people, like college presidents and other leaders are trying to take away the freedom that Americans have. If they succeed in taking away our rights and freedoms, America will no longer be a democracy. America will turn into a dictatorship. This is unacceptable. It is written in the constitution that Americans h ave freedom of speech. Freedom of expression and speech is the First Amendment, the first. It is the first because it is the most important. Without freedom of speech; people are unable to learn and grow, unable to find themselves and stand out, and unable to stand up for what they believe in. If universities get rid of freedom of speech, people will be incapable of learning and developing into the person they should be. Mistakes teach people more than anything else could. Mistakes might not be made if freedom of speech is taken away; if they are made others would be unable to tell them for fear they might embarrass them. Even worse than that, people would be unable to learn and discuss about history for fear of hurting other people. Keith John Sampson was said to be guilty for public racial harassment for reading a history book. This book was about the KKK and how the Irish defeated them. It was a complete anti-Klan book and a history book, but the university didn’t care. Sampson was just trying to expand his knowledge, but he was to be punished. They claimed that he was guilty of reading a book that has a lot of bad feelings behind it in public. However, it is a history book. It is something people learn about in school. The only way to prevent the past from happening again is to learn about it, no matter how bad it is. If the universities take away the right to learn and discuss about the past, we are doomed to repeat it. Besides learning about mistakes, freedom of speech also allows people to discover themselves. College is the first time that people are able to do what they want. They decided what times they want to go to school and what classes they want to take. College is when people find themselves. They find out what they want to do, what the love and who they are. One of the ways people do this is by expression, which falls under the freedom of speech. How can people grow if they are confined in a small box? They can’t grow; they can’t become the people they are supposed to be. College is about exploring, making mistakes, and discovering their life path. College is supposed to be freeing. One of the biggest reason people go to college, besides getting a degree for a better futu re, is to discover themselves. If universities ban self expression people will stop going to college. People will start dropping out and unemployment will sky rocket. The main reason people go to college on campus is for all the experience. If people will still get a college education, they will take online courses and there will be no need for campuses or presidents or staff. They will all lose their jobs. However, the most important thing that will be lost without freedom of speech is the right to stand up for what we believe in. Without freedom of speech, people will not be able to stand up for they believe in. without peoples powerful voices, the world wouldn’t be where it is today. This is why the First Amendment was made, to make sure that people would always be able to speak out and stand up. Unfortunately, people are trying to take that right away. Hayden Barnes, a former Valdosta student, was almost expelled for standing up for what he believes in. The University was planning to spend forty million dollars to build a parking garage. Barnes didn’t like this. He believed that all the money would be better off going to something different. He started protesting the building of the garage. The president of the University was extremely mad. He was the one who wanted to make the garage and he didn’t want someone to stop him. He started going out of his way to get Barnes expelled from school. He looked into Barnes’s background and even looked into his social networks to see what he put on there. Barnes was almost kicked out of school for what he stood up for. No one should ever be afraid to say what they believe and what they stand for. People have the desire to be in control and take rights away from people. Thankfully we have rights and regulations that don’t let them take away what is ours. The First Amendment was made to make sure that everyone in America has the right to express themselves through words and actions. Also, thankfully, there are people who fight for our rights when people try to take them away. FIRE is there to help anyone who needs it. When there are people trying to take away rights, it is wonderful to know that someone will be there to help.