[edit 10/5/04]This is a rough draft. i have since finished the article, and it is much better. once i take it off the school computer and put it online, i will repost. Our country is often referred to as "The Land of the Free," and citizens take their freedoms very seriously. At the mere mention of losing a freedom, a riot could be started in the time it takes to say, "Right to Bear Arms." But very rarely do we consider why we have the rights we do, and how we got them and are able to keep them. Too often do we take our rights for granted, especially our Freedom of Speech. More and more, people are abusing this right. It seems, especially lately, that Americans are taking their freedom to say what they think for granted, and it's becoming a "trend" of disrespect. To better understand this rising epidemic, we must first look at and consider what freedom means to people, more specifically Freedom of Speech. Hillary Feeney, a Junior at Esperanza High School, thinks, "freedom is the ability to do something that not all people can do. Freedom doesn't mean you necessarily should always do something, but you can when you want or need to. Using a freedom too much can basically get old, like eating pizza every day. You end up forgetting how good pizza really is, and then it just becomes common." To others, however, freedom is doing what you want when you want, without regard to others' feelings or rights. This is where I think the line should be drawn. "There's nothing wrong with expressing your opinion, but it's key to do it in a respectful way," Jess Marquis agrees. "Of course there are going to be two sides to every argument, and that's fine, but there's no reason you should intentionally insult someone because their beliefs are different than yours." While sitting in the library last week, during the brainstorming for this article, a very ironic thing happened to prove this very point: As is usual with most libraries, the students were working quietly. For the most part. Behind me, a particularly obnoxious student was talking nonstop, loud enough to make it impossible for anyone in the vicinity not to hear. What bothered me more was his constant use of the "F" word, not to mention other abrasive language. It probably would not have bothered me so much in another setting, but I was in the library to do work, and his continuous talking and swearing was making it difficult. I politely turned to him and asked him to "please" watch his language. Over the next five minutes, I repeated my request twice, to no avail; He acknowledged me with a "sorry," and brushed me off. I could have probably forgiven him up to this point- he was NOT sorry. He had no regards for my or anyone else's feelings. He was more than likely intentionally swearing, just to annoy me. In short, using his freedom of speech to deliberately infringe upon my right to a quiet study environment. Freedom of speech doesn't mean you should say something just because the law allows it. Instead of exploiting freedom of speech, I think we should at very least recognize the reason we have it: Persons in military lose this freedom and fight for this right that others so often fail to appreciate. Instead of acknowledging and respecting these courageous people, we look down on them.