<p>Question: Are there important limits to the principle of free speech in a democratic society?
~~~~grades, comments, and suggestions greatly appreciated!~~~~ </p>
<p>The Bill of Rights guarantees to Americans their freedom of speech. Some individuals claim, however, that total freedom of speech is unwise and that approriate occasions exist in which to limit one's right to speak his or her mind. This view, however, is completely mistaken. Even if one's speech greatly offends other, it should not be censored, because such censorship stifles important public commentary on vital issues, and can prevent national catastrophes.</p>
<p>For instance, the Alien and Sedition Acts of 1812 were clear limits to freedom of speech, and the Acts were greatly detrimental to the U.S. Under the Acts, anyone who spoke negatively about the U.S. government was subject to imprisonment. As a result, many Americans ended their criticisms of the War of 1812. However, these Americans predictions of a lengthy, expensive, and ultimately unsatisfactory war turned out to be correct. If these individuals had been able to freely speak their minds, government leaders like President John Adams may have been persuaded to avert the war.</p>
<p>In the years leading up to the 1919 U.S. entry into World War II, the U.S. goverment createded the infamous Committee on Public Relations, headed by George Creel. The organization effectively detained and often deported Americans who spoke out against American involvement in WWI. If these Americans had been allowed to freely speak their minds without retribution, the American government would have faced much more pressure not to enter World War I. Unfortunately, the U.S. did enter WWI, allowing 50,000 American soldiers to die in battle and alienating much of Europe, setting the stage for the immensely more destructive WWII.</p>
<p>In 2011, popular comedian Daniel Tosh was censored from several prominent television comedy networks afted he made jokes about rape in one of his stad-up comedy session. This censhorship made it difficult for Tosh to communicate his central message to the public: that individuals lighten their lives by joking about any topics, even rape. Instead, the media censorship created a gigantic controversy on the American conception of rape, and Tosh ultimate message was greatly distorted.</p>
<p>Thus, under no circumstances should free speech in the U.S. be limitted. Limiting free speech suppresses the expression of potentially valuable ideas. If Americans had been allowed to criticize the War of 1812 or WWI at the war's respective times, the U.S. could have possibly stayed out of war. If television networks hadn't censored Daniel Tosh, more Americans could have learned an effective method to deal with the tribulations of their daily lives. We should hope that no such curtailment of free speech occurs in the future, as it could cause similar disasters</p>
<p><em>**all grammatical, spelling, and usage errors are intentional (especially when i said said WWII instead of WWI at the beginning of the 3rd paragraph)
*</em><em>don't feel bad about completely ripping into this essay. i admit that it's pretty sh_tty
*</em>*personally, i'm feeling a 7, but PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE tell me what you think</p>