The War Of Freedom Of Expression

Want to read the rest of this paper? Join Essayworld today to view this entire essay and over 50,000 other term papers

state
can legislate thoughts and words, and b) he often agrees with the views held by
his clients. Others such as Noam Chomsky, a brilliant intellectual, argue not
for the views expressed, but the ability to express them. Lining up on the
other side of the battle you have: Derek Raymaker, David Kilgour, Victor Ramraj,
and Bruce Elman. They argue that there is definitely a moral place for laws
regarding hate speech, whether they are criminal or not. There was recently a
new development in the Canadian war for freedom of expression. Introduced in
April 1982 was a new and important strategic battleground.
With the Charter of Rights and Freedoms the war could be won or lost by
either side. It was not long before the Charter saw battle.
In 1984, Jim Keegstra was charged with violating section 281 of the
Criminal Code of Canada (now covered under section 318-320). Keegstra was a
respected school teacher and mayor of the small town of Eckville, Alberta. This
was no borderline ...

Get instant access to over 50,000 essays. Write better papers. Get better grades. Already a member? Login

the main issue of whether or not the
people of Canada want the government to be passing any laws limiting our rights
to think and speak. While it is nearly unanimous that violently acting on these
views is illegal; the debate on laws against speech of any sort draws not only
racists, but simple liberals who believe in the freedom of speech.
Braun outlines the argument against any criminal limitations on freedom
of speech. First, he states that one of the basic premises of democracy is
that: "A self-governing people that have the right and ability to decide for
themselves whom to believe must surely have the right and ability to decide what
to act on." Another point made by Braun, in ...

Succeed in your coursework without stepping into a library. Get access to a growing library of notes, book reports, and research papers in 2 minutes or less.

CITE THIS PAGE: