Public Shame Best Remedy or Not Essay

Public Shame is the Best Remedy… or Is It? One of the founding principles of the nation is the freedom of speech, which is a right that has been safeguarded across generations as military men and women have made numerous sacrifices domestically and abroad (The Virginian-Pilot, 2010). Freedom of speech has granted an avenue for public shame, which remains a controversial issue depending on the matter at hand. Public shame is utilized as a means to regulate behavior in various areas. For example, public shame is used as a tool to discourage teen pregnancy as it is viewed as a powerful tool in regulating human behavior. The attempt at shaming teen pregnancy is right since this issue is an example of moral disapprobation. Shaming teen pregnancy generates positive behaviors by linking it to negative social norms, which in turn encourage positive behaviors among teenagers (Reeves, 2013).

While public shame can generate desired outcomes in certain cases such as reduction of the rate of teenage pregnancy, it can also be damaging based on the principle of harm. On one hand, public shame is a form of moral regulation that encourages good behavior while preserving individual freedom. On the other hand, it could create personal harm and encourage stigmatization, which in turn hurts the society. Therefore, the use of public shame should be based on the standard of harm since the freedom of speech should not be practiced in a manner that infringes on other rights or harm others. Public shame is acceptable to the extent that it encourages positive behaviors and act as a form of moral regulation. Otherwise, it is unacceptable regardless of whether one is harmed in the process. Monica Lewinsky shows how public shame can become a tool of personal harm, attack and stigmatization. Even though public shame was used as a means to discourage her behavior, it contributed to deep personal harm and humiliation as it was used to ridicule and insult her across the media and online.

References

Reeves, R.V. (2013, March 15). Shame Is Not a Four-Letter Word. The New York Times. Retrieved June 11, 2020, from https://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/16/opinion/a-case-for-shaming-teenage-pregnancy.html

The Virginian-Pilot. (2010, June 23). Public Shame is the Best Remedy. Retrieved June 11, 2020, from https://www.pilotonline.com/opinion/article_c3f14da5-c8fd-5eee-9c90-52884a8f5971.html