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Essay:Free speech issues (view source)
Revision as of 16:57, September 21, 2007
, 16:57, September 21, 2007no one would say the state was suppressing your rights by punishing you for causing a stampede.
Free speech is generally considered to be the right of people to speak their mind, to give their opinion and to support the opinions of others.
Opponents to free speech - or restrictions on it - are often based on the principle of "clear and present danger". If you shout "Fire!" in a crowded theater, you are expressing your opinion that there is a fire, with the obvious implication that people should begin evacuating. If there is no fire - and you ought to know better - then you have created such a public nuisance that no one would say the state was suppressing your rights by punishing you for causing a stampede.
Opponents to free speech - or restrictions on it - are often based on the principle of "clear and present danger". If you shout "Fire!" in a crowded theater, you are expressing your opinion that there is a fire, with the obvious implication that people should begin evacuating. If there is no fire - and you ought to know better - then you have created such a public nuisance that no one would say the state was suppressing your rights by punishing you for causing a stampede.