The author S.G Tallentyre once wrote, “I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it.” This statement eloquently elicits the importance of having the right to speak freely, while also demonstrating how having the right to speak openly and honestly shouldn't be barred. The idea of free speech is exceedingly prevalent in the nation we live in today. For example, being able to practice peaceful protests regarding issues such as healthcare, climate change, and gun rights is what makes the United States of America such a wonderful place to call home, but this act can also be its downfall. Personally, at my high school the idea of free speech is subjective because many of the individuals are afraid to speak up and fight for what they're passionate about. This behavior is due to the atmosphere that the schools of our society have created. The atmosphere has become a judgemental and shaming place where if someone doesn't embody one specific mindset, there is something wrong with how they think. This concept made me ponder, and I asked myself this question: wasn't our country built on exploration and defying the “normal” standards and not following the ordinary and politically correct ideals? This is why that notion puzzled me. As a sophomore in high school, I learned about the most influential people in our global history, and I found that they all shared one common trait, they weren't afraid to enact change, while suffering whatever consequences that fell upon them. From an honest fellow like Abraham Lincoln to a peaceful warrior like Mahatma Gandhi, the object of expressing one's opinion has always been notable. These examples illustrate why free speech is crucial to higher education. Free speech teaches individuals to not only explore their own opinions and ideals, but speak about them without worry or fear of rejection. It also teaches them the significance of respecting another person's opinion, while also learning how to defend their own. All of these reasons illustrate how free speech should be considered vital to our society, and not something to be abused. In addition to people treating free speech as subjective and not an absolute ideal, authoritative figures use censorship techniques to try and impede the idea of expressing oneself freely. For example, in an article written by the Council of Foreign Relations, regarding censorship in China they state that the media outlets in China must reflect the government and their “party's will” and must “safeguard the party's authority, and safeguard the party's unity.” These quotes illustrate how the government officials in China only want their citizens to see information that reflects their party's ideals and ideologies, not what is truly occurring in their country and around the world. This is important because it demonstrates the extremes censoring can have on a nation and how detrimental that can be for its adult and especially youth demographic. The same can be said for extreme censorship involving education, just on a smaller and more tamed scale. In education, the idea of censorship is used as a way to protect students from harmful and explicit content, but in the process it “filters” out vital and relevant information students should be exposed too. For example, at my high school we have a “safe school” filter attached to our browser that impedes us from viewing websites that are considered graphic or not “school appropriate.” While I am totally for the use of censorship to prohibit students from seeing vulgar or distracting sites, I do believe this tool blocks students from utilizing and observing valuable information for school purposes. This is connected to free speech because it exploits the flaws and errors that are within the definition of free speech. Free speech isn't just about speaking freely, it's also about being able to express yourself through many outlets and ways and not being stopped or silenced because of a different or “wrong” opinion. This points out how the claims of our world and nation being “free” with no judgement is erroneous. The fact of the matter is that our society has become vile and doesn't understand the idea of discernment and having mutual respect for someone who has different views or different ideals than them. Our nation is divided and the political representation of free speech among our leaders has percolated down into our education, causing the bitterness and disrespectful atmosphere that surrounds free speech. How do we fix this broken idea? We practice using free speech in the way we know is right. We speak our minds lovingly and listen to others willingly. I believe it's that simple because to quote the poet Maya Angelou, “Love recognizes no barriers. It jumps hurdles, leaps fences, penetrates walls to arrive at its destination full of hope.”