Half of Americans Hate on the First Amendment: Why We Need a First Amendment More Than Ever

Earlier this month, Vice Presidential candidate Tim Walz was on MSNBC when he said something I found shocking: "There's no guarantee to free speech on misinformation or hate speech, and especially around our democracy." As I covered in 2017, there is no hate speech exception to the First Amendment. Even "hate speech" is constitutionally protected. Reason Magazine brings up how misinformation is more complicated. Libel, lying to a government official, or fraudulent charitable fundraising are punishable. Conversely, some lies are protected (e.g., New York Times v Sullivan, 1964; United States v. Alvarez, 2012).

Sadly enough, Tim Walz is hardly alone in this authoritarian view and using "misinformation" as a pretext to want to stifle First Amendment rights. According to a recent survey from the Foundation for Individual Expression (FIRE), 53 percent of Americans believe on some level that "The First Amendment goes too far in the rights it guarantees." That partisan breakdown is over 60 percent of Democrats and 52 percent of Republicans. This is a perturbing trend given that the U.S. Left had been a major advocate for freedom of speech, especially during the birth of the Freedom of Speech movement in the 1960s. Although Republicans are less likely to take issue with the First Amendment, it is a more prevailing view that has taken over.  

What a majority of American citizens are really saying is that they wish they had fewer civil liberties. Benjamin Franklin once said that "those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Security, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety." The feeling of security not only applies to national security, but also the security blanket that one's beliefs or worldviews holds. 

Not everyone believes, thinks, speaks, or acts the same way as you do. There is no constitutional right to not be offended. I cannot stand pro-Palestine protesters and their blatant lies. Given their anti-Semitic vile, I view them as modern-day Nazis. Nevertheless, I still believe in their First Amendment rights to [peaceful] protest and freedom of speech. Why would I take such a view? A few reasons:

1. As I brought up in 2017 with political correctness, the list of triggers is subjective and never-ending. If Woke people have taught us anything in the past few years, it is that there is always something that could be deemed offensive, whether that is using a non-preferred pronoun or something from an increasingly voluminous list of things that has been since deemed racist. If being offended were a right, there would be no upper limit on what could be banned or prohibited.
2. Freedom of speech is indivisible. For freedom of speech to work, that right has to apply to those with whom I emphatically disagree, as well as those as with whom I agree.
3. To support freedom of speech means understanding that diverging viewpoints exist. Allowing for those viewpoints and beliefs to be expressed means fostering tolerance towards those who are different from us. 
4. Historically, the government has wielded its raw power to silent dissidents and those who speak truth to power. Freedom of speech, religion, and protest are almost always the freedoms that authoritarian governments stifle first. It is no coincidence that authoritarian governments commonly and often coerce and silence journalists. That is because those that are too insecure in their own beliefs or ideas feel the need to strong-arm those that disagree or reveal information that is unflattering to an authoritarian's worldview. 
5. Freedom of speech is neither inherently "left-wing" or "right-wing." It is for everyone, regardless of one's political views, religion, race, gender, ethnicity, or sexual orientation. Having an intellectual marketplace allows to advance new ideas and find like-minded individuals to inculcate social and political change. 
6. Not only does the First Amendment give us the ability, but to express ourselves openly. As long as people are not harming others vis-à-vis the non-aggression axiom, I want people to live their lives as freely and happily as possible. That includes their freedom of speech, religion, press, assembly, and petition. To quote Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall, "the human spirit...demands self-expression. Such expression is an integral part of the development of ideas and a sense of identity. To suppress expression is to reject the basic human desire for recognition and affront the individuals's worth and dignity." 

Many Americans seem to view freedom of speech with a "fine for me, but not for thee" mentality. When they can express themselves, it is acceptable. However, when it is someone with whom they disagree expresses their views and opinions, it is a whole different scenario. This attitude comes from a society that prefers to avoid or silent dissent instead of learning how to have difficult conversations on controversial issues. What is unnerving is that Americans have more tolerance for unprotected conduct than they do various forms of protected speech, much as we have seen with the recent pro-Palestine protests on college campuses.  

When I criticized the Danish government last December for banning Quran burnings, I was dismayed at how the "free world" is putting the kibosh on free speech. However, I at least had a sigh of relief saying "at least the United States still has a First Amendment." One of the reasons that the United States has historically been a great country is because of the First Amendment rights that it offers. Yet the trend towards hating the First Amendment makes me wonder where my country has gone. If the government starts choosing which ideas or beliefs are "hate speech" or "misinformation," we will find ourselves in an Orwellian state in which 2+2 = 5. I do not want that. 

As long as people want more power and/or money, freedom will always be on the defensive. I want to be free. So many revolutions across history were fought because of a desire to be free. With snowflakes on both sides of the political aisle, we need to fight against those who want to censor and make cancel culture woven into the fabric of U.S. society. More than ever, we need to reignite the part of society that values the freedoms that the First Amendment enshrines and have historically made the United States a shining city on a hill. Otherwise, the United States will become an authoritarian hellhole that is negatively depicted in so many dystopian movies.