Saving Our Children from the First Amendment / / Kevin W. Saunders.

• Superior document: Title is part of eBook package: De Gruyter New York University Press Backlist eBook-Package 2000-2013
• VerfasserIn: Saunders, Kevin W.,
• Place / Publishing House: New York, NY : : New York University Press, , [2003]; ©2003
• Year of Publication: 2003
• Language: English
• Series: Critical America ; 38
• Physical Description: 1 online resource

The First Amendment is vital to our political system, our cultural institutions, and our routine social interactions with others. In this provocative book, Kevin Saunders asserts that freedom of expression can be very harmful to our children, making it more likely that they will be the perpetrators or victims of violence, will grow up as racists, or will use alcohol or tobacco.Saving Our Children from the First Amendment examines both the value and cost of free expression in America, demonstrating how an unregulated flow of information can be detrimental to youth. While the great value of the First Amendment is found in its protection of our most important political freedoms, this is far more significant for adults, who can fully grasp and benefit from the freedom of expression, than for children. Constitutional prohibitions on distributing sexual materials to children, Saunders proposes, should be expanded to include violent, vulgar, or profane materials, as well as music that contains hate speech.Saunders offers an insightful meditation on the problem of protecting our children from the negative effects of freedom of expression without curtailing First Amendment rights for adults.

Table of Contents

Frontmatter -- Contents -- Acknowledgments -- Introduction -- 1 The Most Important Freedom -- 2 The Costs of Free Expression -- 3 Relieving the Strain on the First Amendment -- 4 Inculcating Values -- 5 Children and Other Constitutional Rights -- 6 Obscenity -- 7 Violence -- 8 The Internet -- 9 Hate Speech -- 10 The Coarsening of Society -- 11 Advertising -- 12 Speech in the Schools -- Conclusion -- Notes -- Index -- About the Author