The knowledge of how to organize and fight for the rights promised to us came mostly from the “Civil Rights” and the “Chicano” movements the first of which started in the 1960’s. Groups such as the NAACP, the SCLC, and the SNCC used there constitutional right to peacefully assemble, organize, and request a redress of grievances to fight for the rights of Blacks and Mexican Americans mostly but also they indirectly fought for free speech. Their organizational techniques have been used ever since to fight for all rights including the right of free speech. The fight for free speech is a never ending battle because there will always be oppressive conservatives restricting new ideas that express the feelings of entertainers and people in general. The efforts of the government to censor any form of speech restricts the development of free society and retards its ability to reach its full potential through new ideas.

Sometimes books are banned or censored for unusual and often ridiculous reasons. An example of such is the banning of Little Red Riding Hood in two California school districts in 1989.(The Controversy Around Banning Books) In the story, Little Red Riding Hood is bringing a cake and a bottle of wine to her grandmother's house. The districts claimed they were concerned because of the use of alcohol in the story. Even the popular children's' book series Goosebumps, by R.L.. Stine, has been challenged across the country by parents and school officials. They say that the book is "too scary for kids."(The Controversy Around Banning Books). The Goosebumps books are all about getting kids into the fun of reading and by the time a child can read these books the parents should have taught them the difference between what reality is and what things are just made up stories.

Other forms of speech exist besides freedom of the press and speech in general. One such freedom is symbolic speech. The American Flag is sometimes burned as a form of symbolic speech toward the government or something it has done. The flag is a symbol of our country’s history and patriotism which is why some people are angered at the idea. Supreme court justice William Brennan offered the response that “if there is a bedrock principle underlying the First Amendment, it is that the Government may not prohibit the expression of an idea simply because society finds the idea itself offensive or disagreeable.” (Freedom in the United States) Burning the American flag is considered a form of symbolic speech and therefore protected under the First Amendment.

Some forms of speech are not protected by the first amendment. Fighting words, intended to incite violence or breach the peace may be prohibited as decided in Chaplinsky v. New Hampshire in 1942.(free speech doctrine) Under the Brandenburg test, to prove speech unlawful the state must prove that: the speaker subjectively intended to incite unlawful actions, that in their context the words spoken were likely to produce imminent lawless action, and that the words used objectively encouraged incitement. (free speech doctrine)

Some topics in this essay:
Books Goosebumps, Jackson Mississippi, Banning Books, Robert Francis, Chaplinsky Hampshire, African Americans, Mexican Americans, Democratic Party, Private Ryan”, Citizens Council, free speech, banning books, controversy banning books, controversy banning, fight rights, symbolic speech, political power, little red riding, literary classics, win battle, american flag, speech doctrine, speech protected amendment, form symbolic speech, red riding hood,