When Free Speech Crosses the Line

I'm proud to be an American.
Where at least I know I'm free.
I'm free to do as I please. I'm free to think the way I do. I'm free to say what I want and say as I feel.
But nothing in life is free.

So where is the line drawn?

Recently, after studying more in depth the thoughts and ideas of George Carlin and how he exercised his freedom of speech and expression, I thought, "Wow! This guy really pushed his limits. He acted as if there were no limit at all, and nearly got away with it!" Carlin being such an animated person, can paint a vivid picture of vulgar words and still get let off easy. This was the case when it came to the "7 Dirty Words" and this is when the freedom of speech did not fail him. This made me curious as to how the freedom of speech has failed and how it can contradict itself.


Although the freedom to say, think, and feel the way we do seems like a beautiful idea, it can become ugly very quickly. Take for instance the younger audience, more specifically, children. Children are the most naive of all age groups and for the majority very curious. With easy accessibility to information on nearly any subject they hold interest in, they are free to explore at their will. Even with regulations as in the Parental Control option with most cable providers, blocking the access to certain sites, locking your system with a password, and so forth, it causes children to stumble across websites, films, literature, etc. that can harm them.

The negative effects the freedom of speech has on the development of children is an idea that was brought to my attention by Amy B. Jordan in her article "Children's Media Policy". When I had begun my research on how the freedom of speech can cause harm rather than help, I was honestly short for ideas. There are some more obvious ones, as in explicit speech and how this can offend certain people. But, I never looked at the matter in such a light as the one Jordan illuminated.

I hadn't realized or stopped to think how the freedom of speech can halter a child's development and cause psychological effects. It seems a bit dramatic, I know. But, think about it when you used to watch films like Chucky or It, it made you terrified of dolls and or clowns. The same idea goes. Although I believe that what children watch should be up to the parents' discretion, the parents are not always available to regulate every single piece of material their child absorbs. Because of this the freedom of speech doesn't have to be altered, but the availability to certain information should be far more regulated.

Source(s):
- Article, "Children's Media Policy"