by Jordan Renaud

Created on: April 24, 2008

The country in which I hail from, Canada, is built on a constitution with an entrenched document which guards our liberties; it's called the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. In Canada, at least, we can only be proud that we have rights and liberties, all to a point, which we can call our own. However, at question is the extent and limit to these freedoms.
We may have the freedom of speech, for instance, but Canadians do not have an absolute guarantee that this liberty can be utilized to an unhindered extent. What we do have is an article called the Reasonable Limits Clause which states that the freedoms laid out in the Charter will stand only if they are not in violation of another Canadian's freedoms. Specifically, there must be a reasonable limit to an individual's exercising of freedoms.

Now, in the matter of question: "Should the media have freedom of speech?", we can approach this from a number of avenues

1: Firstly, we can conclude that the media is already out of control with what it displays. Regardless if we are mature and grown adults, we are still bombarded with some of the most racy and distasteful images and words. Is there really anymore that television, movies and music could expose us to that we do not already receive?

2: Secondly, we may say: "We don't need to hear that". However, oh so often are people's words rooted in an amount of truth. We can shield ourselves and do so for our children, believing it's the best thing for them. But one day they will step into the word and be awestruck at the amount of radical and outlandish statements that people have to say. Is shielding us and our family from reality really the way to go?
3: And finally, one can understand that the government exudes one image and one message which the people have no choice but to receive. It is because of this many believe that it is a secondary institution's mandate the media to hold free speech as a cornerstone of a free and democratic society.

So, the bottom line is, free speech and the ability to expresses yourself and your opinions is certainly a freedom born of Western democracy. It is truly a blessing to have such liberty. Now think about what media does and what it stands for and know this:

Common forms of media: Newsprint, online news, magazines, radio, television, movies et al.
The most powerful form of media: You.

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