Silence

Most people know that in the constitution it says that we have the “freedom of speech” but is that really true? Are people really allowed to say what they want or what they believe is right? Try and think the last time you got in trouble for speaking your mind. I am sure it has recently just happened to you.  In the photograph of the man with his mouth sewed shut shows how he needs to be silent. Is he forced to be silent? His he choosing not to speak due to he is afraid what others will think? Those are a few questions that ran through my own mind while looking at picture.

Anne Applebaum writes in “The Decline of American Press Freedom” that Yale University did not publish a book due to the facts others believed there was going to be a huge “outrage.” In my mind I believe that’s not right. If someone wants to publish something what they believe they should be able to publish it. Many people do not believe in the fact people have free freedom of speech. I agree so many people are judged when it comes to what they want to say. For example the book that Yale did not decided to publish because they thought “the risk of terrorism was too great to allow the publication of the twelve cartoons. So many people protested against that decision.  So when looking at the picture and how the man had his mouth all sawed up it makes me wonder if that’s how most people feel. As in do they just stay silent and choose not to speak their minds, so they do not get judged. The picture its self is very disturbing to look at, but it in the end it gives a very true statement.

The picture is very hard to look at but it leaves a great message to however gets the chance to see the picture. It has people questioning what exactly the picture is trying to show. Such as is he choosing to be silent or forced to be? I am sure when people look at a picture this disturbing they wonder if at times they feel the same way, too afraid to speak their minds. So many people judge what others say and people really do not have the “freedom of speech.”

Works Cited

Applebaum, Anne. "The Decline of American Press Freedom." Colobumo, Gary, Robert Cullen and Bonnie Lisle. Rereading America: Cultural Contexts for Critical Thinking and Writing Ninth Edition. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2013. 639. Book.