Posted on 02/27/2004 10:40:35 AM PST by Babbling Bimbo
“We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness…” (Thomas Jefferson from The Declaration of Independence).
Over two hundred years ago one of the wisest men in our country, Thomas Jefferson, laid out the foundation for what our grand nation should stand for. Adapting the theories of such influential enlightenment thinkers as Locke and Rousseau; Jefferson laid out the ideas that would shape our government for hundreds of years to come. From the ideas Jefferson outlined in The Declaration of Independence two other historical documents were created, The United States Constitution¸ and The Bill of Rights. It’s startling that perhaps the single most important document in the history of the United States of America is a mere forty-five-word sentence. “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.”(The First Amendment from The Bill of Rights)
The first amendment of the Constitution is generally hailed as the most important document with regard to the civil rights of Americans, but what really affects us today, what is the newest form of civil rights? Today the right that is constantly bringing up controversy is freedom of expression. Freedom of expression is defined by First Amendment Center (www.firstamendmentcenter.org) as, “the ability of an individual or group of individuals to express their beliefs, thoughts, ideas and emotions about different issues free from government censorship.” Government censorship; one might ask what government censorship has to do with high schools; government censorship also applies to public schools because school officials are state actors, in that they act as part of the government, but are we, as students, really able to fully express ourselves as we should be entitled to under the forty-five word standard? I argue that we aren’t given as much freedom as we should be, and that since forty-five words can only be read so many ways we should be granted the rights it obviously gives us. The Supreme Court has spent the last fifty years establishing and reestablishing standards for freedom of expression. In Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School District (1969), the US Supreme court said that students “do not shed their constitutional rights to freedom of speech or expression at the schoolhouse gate.” The Supreme Court created what is called the Tinker standard, which allowed the school to censor only if the school can prove that the uncensored material will cause a substantial disruption or material interference, or if the material is an invasion of another person’s rights. (First Amendment Center) This decision was monumental, it granted the full first amendment rights to all students in public high schools; unfortunately, in more recent years the Supreme Court has taken a slightly different stand. In 1986 and then again in 1988, the US Supreme court cut back on student’s rights. In the Bethel School District No. 405 v. Fraser, the Supreme Court supported a high school is suspending a student for a vulgar speech he presented before the school assembly, and in Hazelwood School District v. Kuhlmeier two students sued the school after having two articles censored in the school newspaper. In Hazelwood, the Supreme court declared that since the articles dealt with divorce and teen pregnancy, although they are real issues in public schools, they were inappropriate for younger readers. But why? Why would you restrict the ability of students to inform the school of issues that are constant problems? Perhaps it is that the schools fail to recognize that there are issues that need to be addressed by students and faculty. (First Amendment Center) Today freedom of expression and free speech in schools follow the Hazelwood standard. Unlike under the Tinker standard the Hazelwood standard allowed school officials to regulate school-sponsored student expression as long as the officials’ actions have a reasonable educational reason; in fact, under the Hazelwood standard the school can censor materials that would, “associate the school with anything other than neutrality on matters of political controversy.” Most students, when confronted with a freedom of expression issue feel oppressed, and often outraged that the school can actually censor their creative genius, but what most students don’t realize is that in some states they can’t. Due to the unpopularity of the Hazelwood standard, some states have created “anti-Hazelwood laws” which grant student journalism more freedom of expression. Unfortunately Illinois is not one of the states which has enacted “anti-Hazelwood laws,” so our student journalists are held to the Hazelwood standard. Censorship is a growing issue in America to day, and along with each rising level of censorship comes a decline in the freedom of expression of Americans as a whole. And if it is true that we are all equal, and have god-given unalienable rights, then why are our rights restricted? Why must we be censored? I would propose a movement back to the Tinker standard where censorship can only be enacted where it is necessary, and where the lack of censorship will cause disruption or interference with school activities, or invade on another person’s rights. That is freedom.
And while American students are so concerned about their precious (and mythical) "freedom of expression," the Japanese, Chinese, and Indian students are learning albegra in elementary schools, trig in middle school, and Calculus and other advanced mathematics in high school.
"The actions of men are the best interpreters of their thoughts." - John Locke, The True End of Civil Government, 1690.
"Exceeding the bounds of authority is no more a right in a great than a petty officer; no more justifiable in a king than a constable." - John Locke, The True End of Civil Government, 1690.
"Law, in it's true notion, is not so much the limitation as the direction of a free and intelligent agent to his proper interest, and prescribes no farther than is for the general good of those under the law." - John Locke, The True End of Civil Government, 1690.
Until you are an adult there will be extra limits on your rights and responsibilities. You'll understand when you're older :-)
Anyone? Bueller?
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