Key Post: Speech Theories

In a recent class, we discussed the key speech theories and what each means to us. The list includes the marketplace of ideas, participation in self-government, stable change, individual self-fulfillment, check on government power, promoting tolerance, promoting innovation, and protecting dissent.  

We were then tasked with choosing a theory that means the most to us. With a list so stacked full of important concepts, it was difficult to pick just one. However, after digging into the list, my choice would be protecting dissent. 

In the United States of America, the First Amendment serves to protect our views, no matter any unpopularity among them. In fact, unlike many other countries around the world, the ability to speak out against the government is one of our most essential rights. It’s so essential that it is even encouraged and deemed a patriotic duty when our citizens make themselves heard. 

All that being said, it hasn’t been a cakewalk for America to abide by this freedom. In our past, we’ve seen examples of prior restraint, which directly goes against protecting dissent. For example, some parties have attempted and successfully stopped the production of material that could harm their image before its release.

In Near v. Minnesota (1931), Floyd Olson (county prosecutor, later governor of Minnesota) convinced a county judge to issue a gag order against two journalists. The journalists had written about accusations involving Olson and other politicians colluding with gangsters and planned to write more. The gag order was used to prohibit the journalists before they used their freedoms to write again. However, in the supreme court trial, a 5-4 decision was made deeming Minnesota violated the First Amendment. 

When looking for a perfect example of protected dissent, we have the fight for women’s suffrage. For years women were ready to have more responsibility than home care and in the early 1900s, things were boiling up. The government looked for petty crimes to silence these women but they could never outright take away their freedoms of speech, assembly, and peaceable protest. 

The right to protected dissent is exactly what kept the movement alive. Multi-colored women would gather from everywhere to deliver their patriotic duty by telling the government how they felt and what they wanted. As we know, in 1920 the government finally decided to pass the 19th amendment which granted voting rights to all law-abiding citizens, regardless of gender. The protests were very controversial and caused the women great pain, but their persistence proved we have a system of government that has to and will listen to its people.

In the midst of world chaos and confusion, it is very prevalent how necessary our protected dissent is in today’s society. Within the last year, we’ve seen people make themselves heard for what they believe in, and as a result, government action has been taken. This is how we take advantage of such a fundamental right, and this is why I feel it is one of our most important provided. If ever a time in which this right is stripped is a time in which our country will surely fall.