by Mary E

Created on: August 06, 2010

Hate speech can be a contentious issue because it brings out emotional responses in people. When you think of hate speech, you may think of racist slurs painted on brick walls or YouTube videos broadcast by members of the Taliban. Either way, these examples of hate speech are hurtful, there is no question about that. Yet, they should be tolerated because of the simple principle of free speech.

Freedom of speech is the first amendment in the Bill of Rights. The very first thing that our Founding Fathers wanted to address when amending the Constitution of our nation was to ensure our rights as Americans to speak our minds however we saw fit. Free speech is an important tenet of democracy and something that all Americans hold dear. 

The ability of Americans to speak their minds, whether it be against the government or against a television station, is something that makes our country unique. One of the reasons why we, as a country, disagree so strongly with the way that North Korea is run is because they do not allow free speech among their citizens. Hate speech, to them, might be citizens dissenting against Kim Jong-il, their leader. North Korea's government doesn't want anyone pointing out the shortcomings in their country, so they don't let people speak freely. America, on the other hand, allows dissension and disagreement among their citizens. This allows the free exchange of ideas, even if they are hurtful to a group of people. 

America prides itself on providing civil rights and liberty to all of its citizens. Free speech is a matter of liberty. If America were to cease tolerance of hate speech, they would be denying basic civil rights to a portion of the population. If only a portion of a country's population is oppressed and silenced, then the entire population is threatened with the same fate. 

An issue like this reminds me of the famous statement attributed to Pastor Martin Niemöller, entitled "First they came." This statement describes the way that oppression, or silencing, or genocide can get out of hand if no one speaks up. In this vein, if we are to stay silent while others try to suppress the thoughts and ideas of some people, then we are in danger of being suppressed next. If we, as American citizens, value our own free speech, it seems a good idea not to deny anyone else their free speech.

In a way, if allowing hate speech makes it more certain that we will retain our ability to speak freely, then tolerance of hate speech makes us all more free. By ensuring free speech for every single citizen in the United States, we ensure that we can speak up against the hate speech that is broadcast, and we can defend ourselves against that hate speech. 

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