One of my favorite things about having free speech is the music that comes from having this right. So many songs that we are able to enjoy are all thanks to having our free speech protected. I feel like I take my rights for granted at times, because I am able to easily turn on my phone or laptop and have access to millions of songs made by artists from all over. Too many people don’t have this liberty, and aren’t able to enjoy all the artists and songs we can under the American democracy.
The big songs that come to my mind in this instance are the ones that criticize the American government. During the 2020 presidential election, there were a handful of songs that gained popularity that spoke ill of the United States’s last president, Donald Trump. Because of the free speech protection policies in place, the artists behind these songs didn’t face any huge consequences, other than some backlash from Trump’s supporters. After the election ended, there were a few songs that came out from the other side of the political spectrum, about current president Joe Biden. Again, none of these artists were punished by the government because they still harnessed the power of free speech.
Not just music that speaks of politics, but all music in general. If not for the right of free speech, we could’ve been missing out on entire genres of music just because certain voices would’ve been silenced. The right to free speech is almost always taken for granted, especially when we think about just how OFTEN we listen to music. It’s such a huge part of our daily lives, even if we forget it at times.
