Freedom of Speech: the right to express any opinions without censorship or restraint. It’s a gift that was granted to everyone of us, and has been a pillar for many historical and monument documents such as the Bill of Rights. 

The freedom of speech might seem like a simple idea, but in reality, many countries prohibit the freedoms of speech, and petition.  We have an amazing gift that not that many countries have.  There are people out there who don’t have the ability to vote, petition, object, or do anything remotely related to the freedom of speech.  Almost everything we see, or do, is based off the freedom of speech. Most of us embrace the idea, and use it everyday in our lives.

So why is it being limited to only a certain group of people?

When we look on the news nowadays, we are seeing protests that are occurring, and violence that is erupting all over the country.  Just recently, a nurse was fired from her job because of her Facebook post regarding the events with Stephon Clark.  She wasn’t doing anything wrong; she was fired because of a local activist’s, Christina Arechiga, efforts to deal some kind of ‘awareness’.  Her form of awareness being finding where the nurse worked and what her job was, and then taking pictures of posts from her profile and posting it with the an out of context message. 

Tell me America.  Where is our Freedom of Speech, when it is limited to only a certain group of people?

Posting on Facebook, is a freedom of speech.  Talking about your viewpoints on certain issues is a freedom of speech.  So why is it that our freedom of speech, the one that we treasure deeply, is being restricted?

These acts that are going on in the country; the violence against those with a certain viewpoint on a subject, or those who express their ideas freely must stop. We are Americans: citizens of one of the first countries who decided to make freedom of speech a foundation in our country.  Whether you are an immigrant, or a true descendant from someone who lived here long ago, we all respect those values.

If we want to be true Americans, we must stop the violence, and the injustice that is going on against those who want to express their individual opinions.  Whether it’s a trivial topic, or it’s about the current events occurring around us, we must stop hurting each other, because we have a difference in opinions.  The freedom of speech is being violated by these acts, and is slowly tearing our country into pieces.

Remember that nurse who was mentioned earlier?  She was hurt deeply by a message that was taken greatly out of context.  Why did the local activist have to go out of her way to spread ‘awareness’ about the post?  There are now multiple news articles detailing the out of context story, each with more bias than the other.  Was the nurse able to express her thoughts? No.  Did the nurse have a say on what exactly her post meant? No.  While this story might fade into dust as all news generally does, the actions that the activist made against the nurse won’t.  The nurse, who was a retired military veteran, now has to search for a new job, and have something that was blown out of proportion on her record.

Protection of the freedom of speech is vital in today’s world.  It’s something that needs to be saved, with the chaos that is roaring around the country.

This article is not just for you to read and forget.  It’s a message to those across the country, who are fighting, and those who are not letting others show their opinions to the world. 

You might disagree with what I am telling you right now. You might disagree with everything that I’m saying.  But if you’re going to take away one thing from this article, take away this: No one’s free speech can ever be taken away.  No matter what the other people in this country do, your free speech can, and will be heard.  Our freedom of speech, the one that we love and cherish the most, is a grand gift, founded by the founding fathers, and installed into the Constitution through the Bill of Rights.

For those who try to stop people’s ideas and viewpoints from being heard, remember this:

No one’s voice can ever be silenced.