Rights Assignment

1.) What is your right?
2.) Describe what it means to exercise your right.
3.) What limitations exist on your right?
4.) Why do those limitations exist?
5.) If you had to give up this right, what would you want in return?
6.) Why does your right exist?

1.) The right I have is the right to freedom of speech. In the United States this right is protected by the First Amendment to the United States Constitution, state constitutions, and state and federal laws. This right means having the freedom to voice your opinions without having any limitation or censorship on what you say.
2.) The right to freedom of speech can be excercised by speaking about what you believe without having fear. You can excercise it by believing in what you say and knowing that you have the right to share your beliefs with others. You defend yourself when people try to censor what you're saying with the fact that you have the right to freedom of speech.
3.) There are limits on freedom of speech when it interferes with other rights or values. It may be censorsed if what is being said is offensive or harmful. There are limitations when having to do with hate speech if what is being said can lead another person to commit an illegal act. There are limits when what is being said is intentionally trying to provoke violence. If "fighting words" are being used in a serious way in which normal people know would lead to violence, you are able to limit free speech. Freedom of speech is considered to be one of the rights in the US that is actually allowed completely. In reality this right isn't always liable, because in many places like school, work places, and multiple others you will face a consequence if they don't believe in what you are saying.
4.) These limitations exist, because people believe without them there would be other crimes commited or that without them we would be conflicting with other rights. The government and others think that with these limitations we are preventing a lot of illegal actions and violence. I would have to agree with this, because from personal experiences I know that "fighting words" can lead to large conflicts.
5.) In reality I don't think I could ever give up this right. I can't always voice my opinion, but when I am able to I always take the opportunity, because I think what I have to say is very important. Although if I had to give up this right I guess in return I would want to have all the other rights applied to me at all times without any limitations. I would want more rights, like the ones having to do with age, because I am young and would like many of the rights that I don't have.
6.) This right exists to protects people's right to speak freely. The history of free speech tells about colonists during the 17th century. There were many punishments for those colonists who tried to speak out against government or anything that government thought to be "blasphemous". People were prosecuted and even given the death penalty in some religious cases. Eventually in 1753 a man named John Peter Zenger was prosecuted for expressing his thoughts in writing. He was represented by a man named Andrew Hamilton who led them to a victory, and this was the turning point that led the right to freedom of speech.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freedom_of_speech
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Censorship_in_the_United_States
http://www.freedomforum.org/packages/first/curricula/educationforfreedom/supportpages/L04-LimitsFreedomSpeech.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freedom_of_speech_in_the_United_States