Constitutional Rights
- Alexandra Feldman
- Nov 6, 2015
- 4 min read
Image credit - Wikipedia
What separates humans from animals? Maybe it’s our ability to reason. To collaborate. To wonder. Maybe the dividing line is nothing more than a story. After all, humans are storytellers. We share what’s on our minds.
What would you do if you couldn’t share certain thoughts, no matter how important they were?
Freedom of religion, press, assembly, petition -- these are rights to which every human should have access. But should is not do. Worldwide, many people do not have opportunity to share certain “controversial” thoughts. Think of oppressive regimes. Censorship.
If you live in America, you have the right to criticize those in power. As long as you don’t interfere with someone’s rights, no one has the right to stop you. Technology is creating more possibilities. Change.org is an example of an online petition site that’s reached millions of citizens in 196 countries. More countries are joining the “open-source” model of citizens critiquing their governments (although how much power do “ordinary” people have?). We have freedom of petition because like any good scientific experiment needs to be reviewed by other researchers, governments need to be revised by citizens. If people have limited freedoms, they may not be able to express what they want changed. Their government may not perform at the quality it should.
The US Constitution protects against defamation. It’s illegal to damage someone’s good reputation. Likewise, your school makes measures to eliminate bullying: you shouldn’t have the right to abuse, verbally or otherwise. So, can you playfully tease your friends? Can you tell someone you don’t like their outfit?
Let’s say someone seriously believes in something you think is discriminatory. If this opinion offends people, should it be illegal to express it? What if it wasn’t meant to be offensive? What would happen to comedians if their scripts had to be “politically correct” to be legal?
What should be protected by freedom of speech? Why can we mock some issues but not others?
Charlie Hebdo, a Parisian satirical paper, is known for something we, Americans, like to call “political incorrectness.” This has attracted controversy over the past 50 years.
Earlier this year, the newspaper published an insulting cartoon of the Prophet Mohammed. This prompted two Al-Qaeda terrorists to open fire on the Charlie Hebdo office. At least twelve people were killed. This was not the first time Charlie Hebdo faced a terrorist attack because of something it published.
Some argue the employees died “not for a [noble] cause… but for provoking Muslims and feeding the hatred against Islam.” Some say insulting a faith is hate speech and should not be tolerated. Can satire be hate speech?
One activist has said:
What do you think: what is the boundary between hate speech and free speech?
To what extent are human rights inalienable -- how, if at all, should freedoms be kept in check?
What might compel governments to limit the freedoms of their citizens?
I’ll leave you with a quote.
"No barbaric act will ever extinguish the freedom of the press." -- François Hollande, current president of France
Citations
Board, Post Editorial. "From Charlie Hebdo to the Campus: Salman Rushdie's Warning on Free
Speech." N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Oct. 2015.
<http://nypost.com/2015/10/19/from-charlie-hebdo-to-the-campus-salman-rushdies-warning-on-free-speech/>.
"Here's How Arab Newspapers Reacted to The #CharlieHebdo Massacre." AnonHQ Heres How
Arab Newspapers Reacted to The CharlieHebdo Massacre Comments. N.p., 09 Jan.
2015. Web. 22 Oct. 2015. <http://anonhq.com/heres-arab-newspapers-reacted-charliehebdo-massacre/>.
"Muslim Activist Tweets What's Most Offensive About The Paris Shooting." AnonHQ Muslim Activist Tweets What’s Most Offensive About The Paris Shooting Comments. N.p., 09 Jan. 2015. Web. 22 Oct. 2015.
<http://anonhq.com/muslim-activist-tweets-whats-offensive-paris-shooting/>.
"What Is Freedom of Speech and What Is Hate Speech?" Intrepid Reportcom. N.p., n.d. Web.
22 Oct. 2015. <http://www.intrepidreport.com/archives/15106/>.
Further Reading
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/oct/13/pork-school-dinners-france-secularism-children-religious-intolerance
Some schoolchildren in France are now being told, “Eat pork for lunch or go hungry,” even if their religion forbids eating pork.
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/22/world/eritrea-and-north-korea-are-worlds-most-censored-countries-advocacy-group-says.html
Eritrea and North Korea might be the world’s most censored countries. “To keep their grip on power, repressive regimes use a combination of media monopoly, harassment, spying, threats of journalist imprisonment and restriction of journalists’ entry into or movements within their countries.”
http://www.economist.com/news/briefing/21629218-rapid-spread-christianity-forcing-official-rethink-religion-cracks
The rapid spread of Christianity is forcing officials from the Chinese Communist Party to rethink China’s limits on religious freedom.
Related Social Studies Standards
7th grade
Strand: Civics and Government
SS.7.C.2 Evaluate the roles, rights, and responsibilities of United States citizens, and determine methods of active participation in society, government, and the political system.
SS.7.C.3 Demonstrate an understanding of the principles, functions, and organization of government.
SS.7.C.3.6 Evaluate Constitutional rights and their impact on individuals and society.
8th Grade
Strand: Civics and Government
SS.8.C.1 The student will evaluate the roles, rights, and responsibilities of United States citizens and determine methods of active participation in society, government, and the political system.
SS.8.C.1.2 Compare views of self-government and the rights and responsibilities of citizens held by Patriots, Loyalists, and other colonists.
SS.8.C.1.5 Apply the rights and principles contained in the Constitution and Bill of Rights to the lives of citizens today.
SS.8.C.2 The student will demonstrate an understanding of the principles, functions, and organization of government.
SS.8.C.2.1 Evaluate and compare the essential ideals and principles of American constitutional government expressed in primary sources from the colonial period to Reconstruction.
9th-12th Grade
Strand: Civics and Government
SS.912.C.2 Evaluate the roles, rights, and responsibilities of United States citizens and determine methods of active participation in society, government, and the political system.
SS.912.C.2.4 Evaluate, take, and defend positions on issues that cause the government to balance the interests of individuals with the public good.
SS.912.C.2.6 Evaluate, take, and defend positions about rights protected by the Constitution and Bill of Rights.
SS.912.C.2.7 Explain why rights have limits and are not absolute.
SS.912.C.3 Demonstrate an understanding of the principles, functions, and organization of government.
SS.912.C.3.11 Contrast how the Constitution safeguards and limits individual rights.
S.912.C.4 Demonstrate an understanding of contemporary issues in world affairs, and evaluate the role and impact of United States foreign policy.
SS.912.C.4.3 Assess human rights policies of the United States and other countries.
Strand: World History
SS.912.W.7.6 Analyze the restriction of individual rights and the use of mass terror against populations in the Soviet Union, Nazi Germany, and occupied territories.
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