What happened to freedom of speech???

My Schools great journalism teacher is being fired beacause she printed something in the School news letter that promoted some other school rather than mine. I can't believe someone could be fired over a trivial article about some other schools drama program. That isn't right, and can't that be taken up with someone? What ever happened to the first amendment?

 

The 1st amendment only protects you against GOVERNMENT censorship of speech. In most cases, your employer is able to censor anything they damn well want to, particularly speech that "promotes the competition".

Welcome to the corporatocracy....

 

How unfair is it.. if its not your goverment who's repressing you, is your employer. It seems Freedom is farther than I thought it was.

 

And seeing as employers (business interests) are rapidly BECOMING the actual government, constitutional guarantees are becoming increasingly worthless.


That's the Golden Rule--those with all the gold get to make the rules!

 

I hate how things work, money means power.

Is sad but true, we keep on living in a ¨make believe democracy¨ where if you don´t act the ¨right¨ way or say the ¨right¨things. You are shutted out from everything, and classified as a liberal, pacifist, hippie like they were a bad thing.

 

Heh, it's like a McDonalds employee getting fired for eating at Burger King.

 

Things aren't quite as bad as they may seem to be. I'll admit money plays an almost dominant factor in our government as it does in every other on Earth, but we are still by far the most free society in the Industrialized world. Autentique, You make it sound like the dam cold war is still happening. Being labeled a "Liberal" or "hippy" isn't such a terrible thing, nor is being called a "Conservative" that's just the way the world works. It makes it easier to identify people. As far as a "make-believe democracy" goes, you are really exaggerating there. We provide welfare to people who need it, we have mastered capitalism for good or ill, and have a dam near perfect electoral system. Be happy to live in America, you could be living in some 3rd world country without food nor freedom.

 

Actually I live in Dominican Republic, though I'm a US citizen, and keep myself posted on things. I never said being labeled as a liberal ir a hippie is a bad thing, I'm just saying that the people who say this because you dare to speak your view and stand for what you believe in say it as a bad thing, even if it isn't. Let's put an example : The people protesting agaisnt the war in Iraq, we're talking about thousands of people who were against this war, which most of the US citizens did not support. They were labeled as "pacifist" wich I understand that wanting Peace is a good thing, but no they meant it as unpatrotic, traitor to the country.. the list goes on.

And yes I firmly believe we live in a make-believe democracy, not only in the US, but is such a hipocrisy(not sure if i spell that right) coming from the land of the free. Democracy = power to the people.. not a certain group, but all people, it means equality.

When a goverment keeps on doing things that their citizens do not support, that isn't democracy, when a goverment lies about the purpose of their action, that isn't a democracy, when a goverment keeps the media under control, because we all know that the media controls the mind.. that isn't a democracy.

I'm not saying everything is wrong with US goverment just most of it.

 

any organization not directly controlled and overseen by the us government is allowed to censor anyone they wish to. and even the us government is not immune to the desire to shut up people when they don't like what they're hearing. the only difference is that with enough rage, people can do something about that.

 

The United States is NOT a direct democracy! It never has been. It is a democratic republic. We the people elect representatives to act on our behalf, that is how it has worked (or supposed to have worked) for over 200 years. Now, does that always happen? Hell no, as you have just pointed out.

I don't beleive in direct democracy. If 51% of the people voted to have slavery back, the other 49% don't matter, the state, by defention of a pure, direct democracy, is going to reinstate slavery. Do you honestly want to live in a society like that, where minority rights are ignored? I sure don't.

 

Send the US constitution over to Iraq...maybe they can use it ...its fur dang sure we are not!

 

I never said that the minority rights should be ignore. What I'm saying is what the people want shouldn't be ignored, those are two very different things.

A goverment is chosen by the people for the people, if it only works for the interest of a small group, or ideals that are not shared for the people who chose them.. I don't think is doing their job pretty well.

If a goverment needs to lie, or twist the truth to get its way.. I don't think you are living in any kind of democracy.

 

free speech went out the window long time ago, i think it cause no one cares anymore, most people r 2 busy living there lives.

 

The United Nations Human Freedom Index (0 = least freedom, 40 = most freedom. More.):

Sweden 38
Denmark 38
Netherlands 37
Austria 36
Finland 36
France 35
Germany 35
Canada 34
Switzerland 34
Australia 33
United States 33
Japan 32
United Kingdom 32

http://www.huppi.com/kangaroo/8Comparison.htm

"THE U.N. HUMAN FREEDOM INDEX

This is a devastating statistic for those who believe that America's greater commitment to individualism translates into greater individual freedom. In reality, the social democracies of Northern Europe are the freest societies in the world.

The United Nation's Human Freedom Index compares the amount of freedom that citizens of different countries enjoy. It considers the right to travel, assemble, and speak; the absence of forced labor, torture and other extreme legal punishment (such as the death penalty); freedom of political opposition, the press and trade unions; an independent judiciary; gender equality; and the legal right to trial, counsel of choice, privacy, religion and sexual practice."

What was that? We are the most free???

 

Thx for the very informative link (not just the comparison).

 

Actually it's like a McDonald's employee wearing a Burger King Hat, or passing out Burger King coupons.

 

This is a very funny quote.
Doesn't anyone see that ALL these are very rich nations.
It is the poor nations that are not free, and it is the free nations that are rich.

 

This is a comparison of the industrialized countries of the world. I was just trying to point out that we are not by far the most free society in the industrialized world, like Grevious Angel assumed.

 

Use it or Lose it

http://www.freewayblogger.com/

 

There should be anti-spam rules on the forum. Or better yet, a "spam" board where everyone can go to spam, and nobody will ever have to be bothered to read bullshit spam ever again.

And as for the U.S. not being the freest country, bah. We still kick the most ass. Except maybe Japan, since that's where videogames come from.