Why censorship is not only not constitutional, but un-American
The First Amendment of the United States Constitution reads as follows:
“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”
In recent years, the conversation about censorship has shifted from a one-sided defense of our most important liberty to more of a debate, with passions flaring from a variety of different perspectives.
The rise of social media has provided a platform for free speech in an unprecedented way. Individual American citizens have always had a voice, but now they have the means to use it more effectively than ever before. According to Twitter data analysis, 68 million Americans use Twitter on a daily basis, but the potential for new ideas and differing opinions outnumber them by a landslide. Does this make it harder to discern fact from fiction, or are we now more enlightened to the complexity that our First Amendment freedoms promote?
Freedom of speech presents its share of challenges, but anything impeding free speech, especially censorship, is a direct violation of the values that made our nation the greatest experiment in human history.
President Donald Trump is the first president to rely predominantly on social media to communicate with the American people. His direct and forthright style of communication is a testament to his background as a successful businessman.
Trump’s stated mission is to do right by the American people in all his political undertakings, purposed with his slogan “Make America Great Again.” Many find his speech offensive and unpresidential, including Senator Kamala Harris of California who asserted that President Trump’s Twitter account should be suspended based on claims that he incites violence with dangerous messages.
This came after the President was accused by an anonymous source of threatening the Ukranian president during a phone call. Trump questioned the whistleblower’s political motivation and, as reported by CNBC, promptly released the transcripts of his phone call with the Ukranian president to prove the innocence of his intentions. However, purposefully negligent rage ensued from left-wing media sources in an attempt to publicly discredit him.
Harris’s proposed levy of censorship on the president is yet another attempt by the left to disgrace Trump with fabricated information and cover up their own corruption. To prevent Trump from exposing the shady dealings of former vice president Joe Biden and a Ukranian energy company concerning Biden’s son Hunter, the left have falsely accused Trump of the very crime Biden allegedly committed during his term as vice president. These accusations are an obstruction of justice by the deceitful deep state, but they preposterously believe their claims are grounds for impeachment.
I understand how the president’s communication can be generally offensive, and I will not ignore or make excuses for any of the insensitive things he has said. The nature of his speech is not presidential at times; no one can argue that.
However, I believe Trump is exactly the leader our nation needs at this time. I’m tired of silver-tongued, spineless politicians who blatantly lie to the American people, preaching good intentions but failing to fulfill their promises. He may be blunt and brash, but he is a problem solver and I believe the heart behind his message to be pure.
Despite how you feel about Trump, censoring his twitter account is unconstitutional and un-American. Censorship inhibits free speech. In their publication “5 Reasons Censorship Should Offend You,” Turning Point USA argues that any compromise of our first amendment right to free speech, especially one as monumental as censoring the leader of the free world, will become grounds for the loss of other freedoms.
With the repression of free speech comes the restriction of flow of information, the foundation of our democratic processes in the US. Free people ought to have the ability to think for themselves. Allowing censorship would be to concede to the government to do the thinking for the people, perhaps the greatest way we could be manipulated and lose our power as free Americans.
If you dislike Trump’s message, the best way to combat it is not to censor it out of existence. The American way to attack free speech is with more free speech. You have just as much a right to express your ideas as Trump does. Speak out against him and promote the spread of your ideas. Don’t call for him to be censored, or pretty soon you will be too.