Beautiful Freedom

   The things Americans take for granted  - it’s amazing to think that there are many countries around the world where the citizens do not have the freedom to express themselves . Blogger  Thi  Huynh  a Vietnamese citizen emphasizes that limitation of freedom to express oneself in Vietnam, in a simple but honest blog entitled Freedom. In her blog Huynh speaks of her admiration of Americans for the ease and freedom in which they express themselves.

      Thanks to the founding Fathers and the Constitution of the United States, Americans are free to express themselves in various ways, as explained in the First Amendment. This brings to mind a recent topic discussed in our Government class – Snyder v Phelps. In that infamous  case, Phelps and his Baptist Church prevailed in the United States Supreme Court after they were sued by Mr. Snyder, who felt violated by their protest at his military son’s funeral. According to the Judge , Phelps and his church were protected under the First Amendment which granted them specific freedom of expression.

    Would something like that ever occur in Vietnam? Would the Phelps have had the rights to protest at a funeral? Would the Phelps’ freedom to express themselves at someone’s funeral prevail in a Vietnamese Supreme Court? Probably not .However ,despite my despise for Phelp’s  action, I still prefer the United States way – Freedom to express or not express. Noam Chomsky an American philosopher says it best , “If we don’t believe in freedom of expression for people we despise, we don’t believe in it at all.”

by Lam ,the KingGov