Freedom of Thought -|- Educational Philosophy Theory

Freedom of Thought

No Comment - Post a comment


The majority of People are imprisoned in life by habitual beliefs and prejudices, derived from authority and the tyranny of custom. These convictions have grown up in their mind since childhood, block by block; as they get older; the more conservative their thinking becomes, until they have built a reality that is finite, determined, and obvious. In this built-up world, new ideas are contemptuously abandoned, confining themselves in a built-up fortress in the mists of a greater reality, which is uncertain, that has the perceivable end near. fuckin bitch nigger





In 1789, the Congress of the United States passed ten amendments to the constitution. The Bill of Rights insures our freedom of thought and civil liberties from a repressive majority. At the time, representatives were well versed in Plato and knew the story of Socrates, who was put death by the people of Athens for the corrupting of youths along with the impiety of bringing forth false gods to the state’s religion. Our Congress knew the history of mob rule in democracy, and wanted to protect each of our citizen’s life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness. The first and most important amendment protects our freedom of speech, press, religion, and assembly. The other amendments protect our individual power of defense, freedom of arbitrary searches and seizures, and so forth. All the amendments in the bill protect our citizens from the tyranny of the masses or a totalitarian government. The First Amendment protects free thought and allows you to express ideas to other human beings, without the fear of punishment.

The free discussion of our ideas allows us, using deliberate reason, to escape the world of habitual beliefs and prejudices. This allows us liberation from the instinctive world, which allows us to doubt and vanquish other authority from our reality. Authority is power derived from the wisdom and physical force. Socrates discovered in his life that common man was just as wise as authority (religious leaders, politicians, and poets) of Athens. He also said, “in which, I might perhaps fancy myself wiser than other men, - that whereas I know but little of the world of Hades, I do not suppose that I know (APOLOGY, by Plato, translated by Benjamin Jowett).” Who should tell you what is obscene: Religious leaders, politicians, or should you be able to make that choice for yourself? What is perverted: A picture or the mind that deems the picture perverted? Courts have consistently ruled that states have a right to censorship to protect the children from obscenity.

In the Origin of Species, the naturalist Charles Darwin believed human beings are driven by instinctual sexual desires. Sigmund Freud agreed saying human behavior is based on instinctual sexual desires called the “id.” It is in battle with rationalizing conscious, “the ego,” and the ingrained moral values, “the super ego.” According to Freudian psychology, when sexual desires are repress too effectively by rational thinking and traditional moral values, it can cripple a person with guilt, neurotic fears, and perversion. With so many scientists, philosophers, and religious people believing sex to be such a driving force in life, why do we of censor it from public debate?


In 1988, the fight over the First Amendment was brought to the Supreme Court of the United States. Hustler ran an add in 1983 and then again in 1984 for Campari Liqueur. The add was a cartoon parody of Reverend Jerry Falwell depicted as a drunk who recounts having had sexual intercourse for the first time with his mother in an outhouse. Falwell sued for invasion of privacy, libel and emotional distress. He lost on the privacy and libel questions, but a Roanoke, Virginia; jury held Larry Flynt responsible for the emotional distress and awarded him $200,000. The Supreme Court reversed the original juristic decision saying, “In the world of debate about public affairs, many things done with motives that are less than admirable are protected by the First Amendment.” The Supreme Court said it was unpersuaded by Falwell's claim that the Hustler parody was different from conventional political cartoons because it was so "outrageous.” "If it were possible by laying down a principled standard to separate the one from the other, public discourse would probably suffer little or no harm,” said the court. “But we doubt that there is any such standard, and we are quite sure that the pejorative description 'outrageous' does not supply one." Roy Grutman, Falwell's attorney, said, "a line could have been drawn between legitimate and fringe media."

The most cherished idea in our free society is to have no restriction on public debate. The reason for the First Amendment is recognition of the fundamental importance of the free flow of ideas, to continue the search for truth. Though free thought and debate might not produce any truth, it will discover new possibilities, but moreover, it will give freedom from narrow and personal aims which have imprisoned our world. The only things that separate you from me, are walls that we have created. Right now we will live in an ignorant castle, not tolerating beliefs unless derived from authority. Authority has gone as far as to tell us who will be the next president of this so-called democracy.

In 1957 (Roth Vs. United States), the Supreme Court held “obscenity is not within the area of constitutionally protected speech or press.” Justice Potter Steward defined obscenity as; “I know it when I see it.” Remember that Socrates was executed for corrupting youth and bringing forth-false gods. Since Socrates execution, we have been using youth as an excuse to protect authority (such as churches and government) from disobedience from the general public. Many subjects, especially sex, have been censored from the public view, because authority feels threaten by them. Would you rather your child to view a free world, or a censored world?

 
This Post has No Comment Add your own!

Yorum Gönder