America, Land of the free. Discusses what would happen if it didn't have the freedom of press, and the freedom of speech

Essay by stuart webbHigh School, 12th gradeA-, November 1996

download word file, 3 pages 4.7 1 reviews

America, land of the free. America, a country based in many ways on the freedom of press, and the freedom of speech. But what would happen to this great country, tis of thee, if these precious rights had ceased to exist? America, the land of liberty and home of the brave, would hold a great stock of uninformed and uneducated community, ready to rise up to anarchy at any moment; a crowd of undiverse and ununified people; and a population of souls unwilling to create because of the ever looming presence of big brother.

Without the first amendment, America would be uneducated and uninformed. It is customary for most people to wake up every morning to their daily paper. But, in a society without freedom of the press, people would wake up to an altered paper giving only half of the real story. The common everyday magazine would carry a distorted view on all the issues it covers, and the 6 o'clock news would have a show tailored to specifications given by the government.

In schools across the country, children would learn only what the government would allow them to. All of these factors combined would create a society that wouldn't know if they could really trust their government. In a situation like this, America's government could decide not to even allow the press to know that they were going to invade Iraq. The government would also have such a tight hold on all of the people, that they could persuade the nation in any direction they want without any one having a clue of what is really going on. This can cause confusion amongst a people, resulting in an uprising, such as the terrible incident in Tienamenh Square.

Because America acknowledges the freedom of press and speech, our nation...