Kaitlin Nootbar Analysis

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The First Amendment Applies to Whom? “What do you want to do when you grow up?” Kaitlin Nootbar, valedictorian at Prague high School, in Prague Oklahoma had a response in her salutation speech “How the hell do I know? I have changed my mind so many times.” Now the school wants a written apology before giving her a diploma she has earned, not because of the message of the speech but because she had the audacity to utter the word hell without permission. For a teenager it is not considered politically correct to say a vulgar word such a hell valedictorian or not. Granted she did submit a draft to the school of what her speech would consist and used the word heck instead of hell. Why should she have to submit a draft to begin with? The school wanted to be sure whatever Ms. Nootbar planned to say would not cause any embarrassment and would be considered politically correct. Had Ms. Nootbar said heck as her draft had stated, she would have been practicing self-censorship. Even though she wanted to say hell like in the movie Twilight-Eclipse, she would have refrained and said heck because being a bright young woman she knew that is what was expected from her. Out of fear of retaliation, we as a society alter our thoughts and things that we say to appease higher…show more content…
Our Constitution states that we as American citizens have this right, but actually we have freedom of speech with certain limitations. For example, a consumer goes to a local diner and receives horrible customer service. In return, the individual tells everyone they come into contact with about their experience. However, if the truth is stretched and lies come forth, the company can sue the customer for slander. This law also protects Citizens from individuals who have the intent to cause injury to their reputation, also known as defamation of character. Without our government implementing these types of laws anyone or any business could fall victim to spiteful

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