Shouting Fire, a great movie to show how America considers freedom of speech. Every one in this country believes in this freedom and expresses it but once an opposing group stands out all hell breaks loose. Through this movie I’ve noticed that if one group has different ideas we want to limit there freedom of speech but yet keep our own. For example Ward Churchill commenting on the 9/11 attacks by pretty much saying karma just hit us for all the deeds we have done in this world. People said he is committing treason by saying we had this attack coming to us, and Ward Churchill was fired from his job. So speaking of karma is treason but yet you have a protest group saying “thank god for dead soldiers”, talking about American troops, but yet there just practicing freedom of speech.
We do notice that freedom of speech does get limited during time of war, for instance Debbie Almontaser from New York city had to step down from her position as principle of a Islamic school (did not teach religion) because at a convention of hers some one sold shirts saying Intifada (uprising) NYC. Intifada is commonly used in the Middle East to start up uprisings and after 9/11 I can see where the concerns come from. This won’t be the first time things like this happened, during WWII we took Japanese Americans and put them in camps because we don’t want to get the enemy confused with normal people. But a reporter did use words out of text from an interview with Debbie when she talked about the shirts so I honestly don’t understand how that did not go down as libel. Yes we have freedom of speech but sometimes it gets thrown under the bus when our country becomes threatened.
A teenager decided to put an anti homosexual statement on tap and tapped it onto his shirt and he was suspended from school. But yet there was no proof of him being a distraction in school or any complaints about the shirt, so why did he get suspended? Why should he get suspended when in Tinker v. Des Moines the trail let a group of students where black arm bands to protest the Vietnam War? Those arm bands did a lot more distraction then this shirt. Why can we let a student protest a war but not homosexuality?
Finally the Patriot Act and the freedom of privacy. Honestly during time of war and terrorism I strongly believe the government should extend powers to help catch these people who want to threat America. The government is not tapping every ones phone line just suspected people, so what is so wrong about that. I feel that privacy should be limited if it helps prevent another tragedy. You still have your right to privacy it’s just the American government wants to protect America.
Pretty much the thing I got from this movie is, people only want to hear there ideas and want to silence others, and that some people are just idiots.