Paper on Freedom for the Thought That We Hate - 825 Words

Paper on Freedom for the Thought that we Hate In the book Freedom for the Thought that we Hate, author Anthony Lewis takes a simply phrased law, the First Amendment and shows how complex freedom of speech really is once put into the real world of freedom, as we know it. He shows through his rejections of absolutism, strong support towards freedom restriction, and objective analysis of Chief Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes, that the United States press is unlike any other in the world. Lewis rejects the First Amendment absolutism when discussing his argument about shield laws. As discussed in the book, a shield law is legislation designed to allow news reporters the right to refuse to testify to information or give up their sources of†¦show more content†¦Lewis states that this case â€Å"revolutionized the law of libel in the United States† he explains that â€Å"The old common law doctrine putting the burden on libel defendants to prove truth was reversed.† (Lewis, Pg.55) This case even resulted in affecting the law in other countries, I agree that it was the right approach to create the three laws of libel. I feel that Lewis does a great job writing this case objectively yet still allowing his readers to come to the same conclusion he does, the case was handled properly by the Supreme Court in their ending deciscion. After reading Freedom for the Thought That We Hate, I personally have become to consider Oliver Wendell Holmes a First Amen dment hero. There are two cases the Lewis describes from the book where I really feel Holmes made an impact on free speech as it is today, Abrams vs. United States and Schenck vs. United States. In the case of Abrams vs. United States, four radicals threw leaflets from the top of a New York building urging a general strike in protest against Woodrow Wilsons decision to send American troops into Russia. They were charged for â€Å"attempt to hurt the war against Germany,† and all four were convicted. Holmes made a powerful argument he said that â€Å"to punish speech that produces and is intended to produce a clear and imminent danger that will bring about forthwith certain substantive evils.† (Lewis,Show MoreRelatedSpeech On Freedom Of Speech1484 Words   |  6 Pages Abby Koopmann Ethics Freedom of Speech Professor Hunt Culver Stockton College Freedom of Speech Americans have many freedoms that people in other countries can only wish they had. 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