The Declaration of Independence that was signed in 1776 states that “all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are "Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” We are the land of the free. Therefore, all people are created equal and have rights that are the cornerstone of our democracy. We have Freedoms under our Constitution that allow us to exercise these rights, such as those mentioned in our First Amendment. Under the First Amendment, we have the Freedom of Speech and press and the right to peacefully assemble to petition against the things we feel are wrong with government. We have the right to dissent and freedom of expression is so important to Americans because it is the foundation of democracy and therefore, protecting dissent is important.
I chose to focus on Protecting Dissent as the value of free expression I find most important to me. Theorist Steve Shiffrin wrote about dissent in Dissent, Injustice, and the Meanings of America. His basic idea was that dissent is important to protect our right of freedom of speech and it is necessary to speak out against injustices we see in our government. As a young woman, I feel the right to dissent is important in order for my voice to be heard as a citizen of the United States. We are born in the land of the free and if we don’t agree with the injustices we see around us, we have the right to speak up and dissent as long as we do it in a peaceful way that causes no physical harm to others in my opinion. For example, the #MeToo movement recently protested for women’s rights in Washington. As a result of that widespread movement, people around the world are more aware of how prevalent sexual harassment is and are more aware about ways to prevent it; and victims learned that they weren’t alone.
I feel that everyone has the right to freely express their own beliefs and opinions. Freely expressing any opinions that an individual has towards a law, belief, or event that is happening can lead to positive change that will impact our Nation greatly. Anger is often present in protesting, but without passion towards a cause change will not occur and injustices will continue. Recently, the death of George Floyd was a catalyst for the Black Lives Matter movement in the United States and around the world. It broke my heart witnessing his death through the media. Mass protests peacefully protested for social change. Signage went up everywhere in support of the BLM movement. Most of my friends and me included sought out ways to educate ourselves on systemic racism in our country. People protested everywhere in solidarity to want change and for a better world against racial injustices. Have the protests in recent months led to positive change against racial injustice? The answer is yes.
Although we still have a long way to go in this country, legislation in police reform has been put into action, corporations and businesses like Reddit have promised more diversity in their companies and rebranding of products to bring more racial equality has already happened. It is our right in this country to protest against injustices we witness. Protesting is good when peaceful and unified and can bring about real change. I feel it is important for my generation to be passionate and speak up against the injustices we see around us. Protesting doesn’t equal violence and vice versa. It is ok to be angry against injustices we see around us and to want change. Positive change CAN occur, but only with dissent. Someone who I have always looked up to is Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, a strong women who believed in the proponent of the right to dissent and often showed her dissent by her collars when she disagreed with certain cases. Dissent can be one of the most patriotic things we can do because we are exercising our right of free speech and it shows that our Constitution is working. My hope is for a unified nation where everyone is treated equally and has access to the same opportunities if they work hard. Is it too unrealistic to expect? Maybe or maybe not. Isn’t that what “Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness” means?
When Googling "Can it be that our opinions really do get censored?"
In honor of RBG and everything she did for the Rights of Women.
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