24: Freedom of Speech - How Much is Too Much?

If you’ve turned on a television or looked at social media over the past decade, it’s hard to miss the discourse that’s taking place in our country. We as Americans pride ourselves in our rights in free speech, as spelled out in the First Amendment to the U.S, Constitution. However, lately there seems to be a lot of discussion around what should and shouldn’t fall under our rights to protected speech, which is why we wanted to dedicate an episode to this topic.

In this episode, we look at how far we’ve gone to protect ourselves from offensive remarks, and look at whether it is time to take a stand against what many consider hateful, and even harmful, rhetoric. Is there a balance that can be achieved here, and is there a line that should not be stepped over?

We don’t have all the answers, but, as always, hope to provoke and expand your thinking. It’s a timely conversation, particularly keeping in mind the college and university students of today will become our decision makers and leaders of tomorrow.

As always, we love to hear your feedback. If you have a question or topic that you’d like us to discuss in a future episode, please go to https://www.respectcircles.com/voicemail/ to leave us a message. You can also reach us by email, respectcircles@gmail.com, on social media at https://www.facebook.com/respectcircles and https://www.instagram.com/respectcircles/, or by visiting our website at www.respectcircles.com too. We look forward to hearing from you!

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In this episode you’ll hear:

A discussion of free speech and the dangers of creating “safe spaces” [4:54]
A look at the different parts of the first amendment, and why they need to be understood [8:47]
Our thoughts on the need for respectful discourse and debates at this time [11:33]
The freedom of information that exists today, and who is controlling the narrative [14:59]
What role healthy dialogue with our neighbors will play as we navigate the subject of free speech [17:13]
How right now we are all living in a world of receiving information via media sound bites [19:10]
The hypocrisy of cancel culture and first amendment offences [21:44]
The ways that oppression still exists, and the systemic components that will reinforce those oppressions even further [28:10]
What is our responsibility as society and individuals, and how you get involved in this discussion and issue [33:19]