~~ Chapter 4... Civil Liberties ~~

1.) Freedom of Speech: How important is it? Does the Freedom go "too far?" What areas of speech should not be protected?

I believe that Freedom of Speech is a very important liberty that we are fortunate to have in this country. It allows us to have a voice in all aspects of our lives, government, religion, etc. We have the ability to speak out about issues whether we think they are right or wrong. We are able to be heard when it comes to our government and leaders. Many countries do not have this day to day right that we, as Americans, seem to take for granted at times. I do feel that freedom of speech is one of the rights that we need to defend and keep because it is essential to the growth of this nation.
 I think that on some occasions freedom of speech does go "too far." It's like anything else... some people carry the right itself "too far" and use it to harm others or use it to cause violence or rioting, or even share important things such as military secrets and defense plans or other high profile information that should never be shared. In these instances, I think they should be dealt with on a one on one basis, using the laws that are put into place to deal with these situations. "Voice" can be a mighty sword if it is backed by the wrong mindset or someone who is looking to do harm to others or our nation. This is where the line should be drawn and the necessary steps should be taken to stop and keep this type of behavior from happening.
I personally believe that some sort of laws or restrictions should be set on Campaign Finance for politicians. I think this is an area that has gotten way out of hand over the last several years. In my opinion, campaign finance allows huge companies and corporations to "buy" certain politicians and stack government in their favor.

2.) Freedom of Speech: Is separation of church and state necessary? Why or why not?

I feel that separation of church and state is necessary. I feel if we don't keep this separation, we would end up having a government chosen and ran religion, that could lead to a ban on religions that aren't readily accepted. I just do not believe that anyone should be able to tell us who to worship or how to worship. Freedom of religion is one of the basic building blocks of this country, and should be a protected right.

3.) Criminal Procedure: Are defendant's rights crucial to our system of government? Why or why not? Many argue that defendant's have too many rights-- do you agree? Why or why not?

I believe that a defendant's rights are crucial to our system of government. I don't think anyone's freedoms or life should be put in jeopardy without the system being absolutely responsible for proving that person is guilty. It's been proven that innocent people have been sent to prison and have lost out on years of their lives. It's also been proven that innocent people have been executed. No one can give those years of life back to them that they have missed out on, and no one can give the innocent life back to those that have been executed. I don't think that defendant's have too many rights because of these situations. I think our judicial system is built to protect both the defendant's, as well as the victim's rights, and for the most part does a great job, especially in this day and time. With all the advances in forensic science there are fewer mistakes made when prosecuting individuals, and that proving guilt or innocence has almost become a precise science, and leads to almost fool proof convictions. I know if I were ever on trial for something, or a family member of mine was ever on trial for something, and I knew without a doubt that I was innocent or that my family member was innocent that I would want all of those right's available to me and hope that it would be able to prove innocence.


Blog Comments:
Ashley Pelfrey
Amber Waters
Amanda Strange