Of Walter Lippman's Essay 'The Indispensable Opposition'

“ ‘I wholly disapprove of what you say, but will defend to the death your right to say it’ ” (Lippmann 14-15). Voltaire’s statement explains that even though he disagrees with an opinion, he will defend the entitlement of freedom of speech. In Walter Lippmann’s essay “The Indispensable Opposition,” his argument on freedom of speech is that American society should value and tolerate others opinions because it is necessary in a civilized society. Utilizing rhetorical strategies such as diction, parallelism, and the use of personal pronouns; he emphasizes his stance on liberty of opinion.

Democracy and personal rights are a key component of American society and belief system, but citizens have begun to take the liberties given to them for granted. They have been around for so long no one can imagine society without them. Bryan Rittgers takes on a sarcastic and witty tone in his satiric essay in order to portray the irony of undervaluing the importance of rights to normal American citizens. This essay is laced with extreme sarcasm and is written in a true satiric manner. Rittgers openly denounces the rights he has been given and pushes for the removal or restriction of them.

The audience were both loyalists who were unsure in joining the American rebels who were leaning towards the side of the loyalists that it was written in such a way that common people could interpret concepts and to promote the rebellion. The technique was to use what he thought was "common sense" to persuade people into believing what he expected to be an obvious thing. His argument is for American independence which begins with theoretical reflections about government and religion which furthermore progresses into the specifics of the colonial situation. He distinguishes between society and government; society to him is constructive whereas government is represented as an institution. He saw that the global significance of the American struggle for independence was human rights and freedom.

(Doc. D) This statement exemplifies the detraction of the rights of man which allowed citizens to voice and protest their opinion publicly without the fear of being

He refers to a large majority of struggling people in the U.S. by saying, “If a free society cannot help the many who are poor, it cannot save the few who are rich.” His rhetoric is wide-ranging, as the beliefs of the entire nation are wide-ranging. He appeals to nationalistic sentiments, speaks to the struggling, and calls for peace across the

Most Americans fought for their individual rights for decades before WW2. The first amendment in the Bill of Rights guarantees the right to free speech meaning that the citizens of America are allowed to read, write, and share ideas freely and act in opposition. Walter Lippmann, social philosopher and writer’s, article, The Indispensable Opposition, appeared in the Atlantic Monthly in 1939 during WW2. Lippmann informs Americans in the article on the importance of everyone having the freedom of speech and opinion in society by separating what is believed and what is the truth by creating juxtaposition, incorporating strong repetition, and invoking powerful diction to set the tone.

By the freedom of opinion, cannot be meant the right of thinking merely; for of this right the greatest Tyrant cannot deprive his meanest slave; but it is freedom in the communication of sentiments [by] speech or through the press” (Voices of Freedom, Chapter

Moreover, parallelism was used in paragraphs 4-10. According to Webster parallelism is the state of being parallel or of corresponding in some way. He uses this when he asks his father “Why did Mr. Wilson call him George?” or “Doesn’t he know his name?” He. Also uses repetition throughout these paragraphs when he tells his father to tell the man his name.

Junger’s reason for the quote highlights how citizens are not entitled to freedom but it is a privilege earned through the sacrifice of service members who fought hard for it. We often take things for granted including the freedom that we share countrywide,

He provides positive aspects of their country and gives them assurance that the United States will overcome its struggles for equal voting rights. Through these quotes, it is able to be understood how connotative diction can impact one's speech and supply support from the speaker's

Freedom of expression is one of the laws the forefathers of America made to empower its citizens and also enables them to live in peace amongst themselves. In most countries around the world, freedom of expression does not exist, so there is always war in those countries. In the article “Why the First Amendment (and Journalism) Might Be in Trouble”, the authors, Ken Dautrich, chair of the Public Policy at the University of Connecticut and John Bare, who is the vice president for strategic planning and evaluation at the Arthur M. Blank Family foundation in Atlanta, conducted a research study on the importance of freedom of speech. They used their research findings to support freedom of expressions. They employed claim of policy, claim of fact and also appeal to pathos and logos in their argument of the importance of the freedom of speech.

They are almost like repeating sentences, but written differently and are used to emphasize important ideas. In Patrick Henry’s speech he uses parallelism a couple different times, for example, “We have petitioned; we have remonstrated; we have supplicated; we have prostrated ourselves.” He repeats that they have tried everything, he does this by rephrasing it in different ways each time. Stokely Carmichael also uses parallelism in his speech, he says, “ Now there is a man who’s desperately needed in this country. There is a man full of love.

The freedoms of speech and of press are quintessential American rights, afford to it’s citizens through the ratification of the first amendment on December 15, 1791. These rights protect the voices of minority's, inform citizens, preserve the truth and create a watchdog for government corruption. Although these rights are toted in high esteem by most Americans, most are unaware these freedoms are not absolute and poses limitations. Such limitations sometimes include speech that criticizes the government. Throughout American history freedom of expression seem to be treated

He states being American is about being able to have equal and better opportunities to create a more inclusive and equitable society. He states “I con- vinced the school board to let me wake up every day at 6:00 a.m. to go take AP history at another high school in a different town”(Penn

People have the tendency to take the First Amendment for granted, but some tend to use it to their favor. Stanley Fish presents his main argument about how people misuse this amendment for all their conflicts involving from racial issues to current political affairs in his article, Free-Speech Follies. His article involves those who misinterpret the First Amendment as their own works or constantly use it as an excuse to express their attitudes and desires about a certain subject matter. He expresses his personal opinions against those who consistently use the First Amendment as a weapon to defend themselves from harm of criticism.