Freedom of Speech: Does the Media Allow Politicians to Speak Freely?

It is believed that this country is a free country. The Constitution states in its First Amendment that as American citizens we have freedom of speech. I interpret this as the ability that one has to express the way one feels about the different issues in society. However one of the most talked about issues in today's news was how people are criticizing Senator John McCain (shown at the left) for expressing his opinions about religion in politics. There are many articles that address this issue and they try to bring people to one conclusion. McCain is a bad person because he chose to express what he believes would be best for this country. Here we see a clear example of how the media can misunderstand a politician's words and interpret them their own way which, many times tends to be a negative way.

According to CNN, in an interview with "Beliefnet, a Website that covers religious issues and affairs," McCain stated "I just have to say in all candor that since this nation was founded primarily on Christian principles, personally, I prefer someone who has a grounding in my faith." After this article we see that "Muslim and Jewish groups on Monday sharply criticized Sen. John McCain's comments that he would prefer a Christian president to lead the United States." This was brought up to McCain's attention who responded angrily when he saw how his words were misinterpreted. He said, "I believe that anyone can be president of the United States of any faith" but made it clear "there's nothing I can do about it." I think that this was a fair rebuttal because it is true. He expressed what his personal opinions were about this issue and he should not be condemened by people for taking advantage of his freedom of speech.

MSNBC goes further to report that on this same interview with Beliefnet McCain was asked, "if a Muslim candidate could be a good president." McCain answered by saying "I just have to say in all candor that since this nation was founded primarily on Christian principles ... personally, I prefer someone who I know who has a solid grounding in my faith...But that doesn't mean that I'm sure that someone who is Muslim would not make a good president." This shows that he is not stating that only someone of his faith has the ability to be president. He at no point is expressing that his religion is the correct one or putting other religious down. The media is quick to manipulate his words. They seem to do this thinking only of their own personal gain. Usually, they use this manipulation of words as a headline in the interest of selling papers or having a large amount of online readers.

Other religious groups seemed a little upset at McCain's words as well. In CNN's article "Groups criticize McCain for calling US "Christian Nation", "Ibrahim Hooper(shown at the right), spokesman for the Council on American-Islamic Relations, said McCain's comments failed to recognize that Christianity is not the only faith with beliefs that support the concept of human rights." Hooper added that McCains comments "go against the traditions of American pluralism and religious pluralism and inclusion." I have read articles in which McCain clarifies that people should elect their president because he or she is the most qualified person not because of their religion. As with most Americans, the issues and candidates' expirience play an important role to his decision.

This is an important topic when it comes to politics because I feel that politicians are striped of their First Amendment rights.The stress the media puts on these politicians, in part play a role in the reason some politicians are untrustworthy. They do not allow politicians to speak freely. Politicians are forced to be more careful in what they say and construe their words based on what is socially correct. This is a problem becuase at times we get politicians who say things they do not really believe in. Off course this is a serious problem when a politician is elected and begins to act according to what his beliefs are and not what he may have previously stated. It begins not to matter much if the country agrees or not. We end up with a government that is untrustworthy and with a society that seems to become more careless to engage in things like voting because they feel their voice does not matter to the government.