The First Amendment is the foundation for all other rights granted by the Constitution, and is a must for any society to remain free for any length of time. Unfortunately, many people today don’t understand just how important those freedoms are.
More than half of all respondents to a recent survey said that the U.S. Government should curtail First Amendment rights in order to combat “hate speech”. The survey, which was conducted by The Campaign for Free Speech, interviewed just over 1,000 individuals between September 3, 2019, and September 5, 2019. More than 60% of respondents said that free speech should be restricted in some way.
A horrifying 51% of all respondents said that the First Amendment should be re-written to reflect “today’s cultural norms”. Nearly 50% of respondents said that “hate speech” should be against the law. Of these individuals, about half think the punishment for breaking an anti-hate speech law should include jail time. Furthermore, 57% of survey respondents said that the government should be able to take legal action against news outlets that publish “biased” content. Naturally, there was a divide between younger and older generations, as Millennials were more likely to oppose First Amendment rights for “hate speech” than Baby Boomers.
The poll also discovered that a whopping 80% of respondents didn’t know what the First Amendment really protects. Most individuals thought that the First Amendment protects people form any consequences of sharing their thoughts, opinions, and beliefs. The truth is that the First Amendment only protects people from government action against such expression.
Individuals, businesses, and organizations can (and do) face other forms of action as a result of sharing (or not sharing) certain beliefs, thoughts and opinions. Boycotts, negative publicity, and ostracism are legal and ethical under the First Amendment. However, being hauled to court and threatened with jail time, fines and/or other forms of government action is illegal and should remain so.
Allowing the government to make “hate speech” or “biased news content” illegal is an extremely dangerous first step towards a tyrannical dictatorship. A far-left liberal, for instance, may consider the use of wrong personal pronouns when describing a transgender person to be hate speech, while a conservative person may consider “hate speech” to include negative comments about advocates for traditional marriage. At the same time, “biased” news content could include content published on just about any news site. Every single article is written by a person, and every person has a natural bias. Whether a news outlet or journalist is punished for creating and publishing “biased” content would depend on which party is in power at any given time.
Curtailing free speech rights in order to crack down on certain forms of speech opens the door to a total lack of freedom wholesale. Respondents might believe they are exempt from “hate speech” laws because they have the “correct” opinions today, but all it takes to change all of that is the passing of time. Americans need to remember that the First Amendment — and the rest of the liberties outlined in the Bill of Rights — is exactly what makes their country so exceptional in the first place.
