Freedom of speech: a complicated quest

I began this article on the principle of giving light to the fact that the American people have lost many of their freedoms, primarily that of free speech. I set out to illustrate examples of censorship in our society, mostly because I myself feel censored due to the recent budget cuts pushing the media out of Modesto Junior College. How I witnessed at the last budget meeting hundreds of students and teachers appealing to the board to keep their programs only to fall on deaf ears. How I watched as a veteran was escorted out of that same meeting by police, silenced for speaking out of order above a ridiculous time limit, a man who fought for a "free country". How I traveled to Sacramento to protest against these same budget cuts and though our voices were loud, we were still urged to keep it civil, to not speak out of turn, to not fight.

I am not an advocate of violence; however, I am an advocate of free speech, of not being made to feel afraid to say exactly what should be said. This meaning often becomes lost, and becomes confusing. Where do we draw the line? If we want everyone to be civil, if we do not want racist slurs or rude remarks, or anyone to say anything we don't personally agree with, then how can there be free speech? I don't want to be the one to say we can't, because I am a firm believer in our right to freely express ourselves, but if we quibble over the issue and censor, censor, censor…then no, we will not be able to have freedom of speech.

     I feel that Modesto Junior College has been personally censored, but it goes farther than that. Colleges have been practicing censorship of their students for years. According to www.nysun.com, in 1998, Columbia University began shrinking their invited audiences in order to filter out "unwanted speakers," allowing only Columbia students to attend conservative events to rule out any disorder brought on by leftist protesters. Also a former president of Cornell University commended students who burned hundreds of copies of a conservative campus paper that had irritated African-American students with a parody of Ebonics; the president saw this censorship as an act of free speech which of course, is a contradiction in itself. It goes both ways, and soon nobody's happy, but I think one thing both conservative and liberal students, and people, can agree on is that they want to know they can speak their mind under the First Amendment. Some colleges even have "free speech zones," selected areas on campus where one is able to speak freely. To that I say: ridiculous! Free speech shouldn't be limited to just an area, it should be something protected and valued as an asset to create a rich community of different opinions, not something locked in a cage and belittled.

Right now, at Modesto Junior College, free speech is being threatened because of a mallet being slammed on the free press, something covered under the First Amendment, under our Constitution. Something I believe is happening because yet again someone doesn't want to hear something people have to say; in this case, it is someone in power, but as I've demonstrated, it isn't always. I began writing this article ready to point fingers at specific figures, at perhaps the government and each person in power over us, the little people. But instead I am finishing this article on a different point, one that not only accuses those in power, but the little people as well, me included. We are losing our freedom of speech like sand through our fingers and we have no one to blame but ourselves. You can't have freedom of speech unless you understand the definition and are willing to hear some of what you like and some of what you don't. So, in conclusion, I urge everyone to think before they speak but that when they do, speak loud and let those around you speak at the same volume and strength, keep freedom of speech alive by speaking. A wise man (Voltaire) once said, "I may not agree with what you say, but I'll defend to  the death your right to say it." We should lead by the same principle, and by that we will be free.