Observation #23

Freedom of speech is a vital aspect of the American culture. It not only defines how our nation came to be independent, but it also shows the amount of trust we put into our government, and how much faith they put into us. With all this freedom I sometimes think that we get carried away into believing that we can say or do anything without thinking about the ethical effects of our behaviors; in other words, the power has gone to our heads. I wanted to know why and how the people in the other countries can deal with having limitations in the way that they express themselves. My conclusion, as well as the culmination of thoughts given through discussion by my roommates and I, is that the people don’t want that power, they like having some of their decisions made for them. Although this idea is the complete opposite point of view looking from our country into theirs, if we change our perspective around, we may catch a glimpse of the freedom that they have found. The New York Times has said that freedom of speech is the weakest card in Europe’s hands right now, but maybe we are holding the wrong cards. Maybe too much control over every aspect in the media and in language and speech is just too much control.