First Thoughts


Wherein Our Heroine Meditates on that Most Primary of Amendments.
It is really old news by now, but more than one out of three high-school students thinks the First Amendment "goes too far." Those who know me know I find the results of this survey incredibly frightening. This story brings out all of those premature octogenarian, "What are they teaching them?" thoughts in me. These kids display a remarkable lack of ability to think through the law of unintended consequences. I wonder if this sparked any discussions about the fact that these kids' freedom to express disapproval of a Constitutional Amendment is protected by that very Amendment.

At the opposite end of the scale are the Internet denizens I call the "Poo Flinging Monkeys." These are the uber-trolls that show up on personal websites, sneering and taunting. When the sneering and taunting turns into abuse and foul language, and a warning gets issued from the site's owner, the monkeys start to gibber about the site's owner being anti-First Amendment.

A quick word about the First: it is meant to apply to the government. As a private citizen, you are not required to give people free bandwidth and a platform so they can abuse you. It would seem obvious. You aren't required to invite people to come into your home and harangue you either.

As in most areas, there is a balance. On the one hand, we have teenagers thinking that the First goes too far, on the other hand, we have PFM thinking it does not go far enough. Living at the balancing point is not easy - it requires thought and a willingness to tolerate ideas you emphatically disagree with.

But meditating on these two extremes really makes me fantasize about that island, let me tell you.
Posted: Wednesday - March 09, 2005 at 08:47 AM         | |

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