by Kristin Kolehouse

Created on: June 15, 2009   Last Updated: July 02, 2009

When discussing the First Amendment, it is very dangerous to categorize any type of free speech as going "too far." Every individual has their own ideals and mores as to what speech they find acceptable. If speech which goes too far is speech that a person or group of people will dislike, there will be absolutely no speech left.

Characterizing an argument as a slippery slope has become a fad as of late, but leaving the question of what speech goes too far up to every individual's opinion, will be the demise of the rights afforded by the First Amendment that have been a beacon of freedom to the rest of the world.

It is not as though a set of guidelines about free speech do not exist. Threatening speech or speech that incites violence is not constitutionally protected. Treasonous speech that calls for the violent usurpation of the government's power is not protected either. However, hateful, racist or generally ignorant speech is completely protected and that protected status should not be changed.

If it were illegal for religious zealots to protest homosexuality or for far left-wing extremists to protest capitalism, Americans might not be aware that these sentiments exist. Offensive speech creates a national dialogue where citizens come together to say why the bigoted or racist speech is incorrect. Extremist groups of any kind aim to change the mind of the public, but what they do not realize, and what the public should recognize, is that offensive speech only serves to undermine the hateful message.

A child may see a picture or read a quote from a Ku Klux Klan rally and ask their parents about it. This is an opportunity for parents to have a thoughtful discussion with their children. When the KKK congregate openly to spew their racist views, normal American citizens are shown just how ignorant and wrong the ideologies of the KKK are. To try and ensure that its citizens are never made uncomfortable by making racist, bigoted or anti-Semitic speech illegal, the government will do absolutely nothing to stop small minded people from having those types of ideas. Education is the only way to halt the proliferation of hateful ideologies, and in order to educate people about something, that something must be visible. Trying to trick citizens into thinking offensive speech does not take place by making it illegal only covers up the problem instead of actually getting rid of it.

To conclude, it seems that outside of speech that incites violence, mutinous or otherwise, or speech that threatens another person's safety, free speech can never go too far.

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