Quote:
Originally Posted by SaintessHeart
Back on topic, it seems like the symbol of freedom of what U.S is became the symbol of "doing whatever one wants with no regards or due respect to others".
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While America has a radically individualist culture when viewed from societies with more collectivist tendencies like much of Asia and Europe, we also have three hundred years of laws and legal argument designed to manage as best we can the results of excessive individualism.
The caveat that TRL mentioned, "that such freedoms cannot be used to offend public order, public health or morality, [or be] seditious" is fundamentally at odds with the First Amendment to our Constitution, namely that "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances." While First Amendment absolutists (I'm pretty close to one) might argue that "no law" means just that, historically the Court has been faced with determining when it might excuse limitations on speech on other grounds. The
jurisprudence here spans centuries and an dizzying array of subjects.