The First Amendment of the United States Constitution protects the freedom of five things: religion, assembly, petition, and, most important to this article, speech and the press. At the time this Amendment was written, the American people knew of "the press" as newspapers literally coming off the printing press, reducing the flow of information to word-of-mouth and newspapers. Both things that one can assume were relatively easy to opt out of or not engage with in the first place, if the topic became unsavory to the tastes of the beholder. However, as technology evolved, different forms of media became available to the population. The most significant innovation to this subject is the TV, which quickly became a staple item in American households in the 1950s.

As the TV gained traction and became more advanced, it ran into a significant conundrum. The TV was often an entertainment system used by the whole family. Still, some productions contained "adult material" — often classified as things such as violence, drug use, and sexual activities — so the question became: how do we keep children from engaging with this material? Some were of the idea that media that were violent or sexual in nature have a "negative effect on society and should therefore be restricted" (Ferris and Stein 2024). Of course, this sparked backlash, as others viewed it as a violation of the First Amendment. Arguments raged on and eventually resulted in the movie and television show rating systems that are in place today, classifying media as what is permissible by age group, according to the entities that created the systems (Ferris and Stein 2024). However, this debate reared its ugly head yet again when the internet came onto the scene.

The internet posed a new challenge when it came to explicit and sensitive material, in that it could be found anywhere at any time by virtually anyone. One form of explicit and sensitive material is hate speech. Hate speech has likely been a thing forever, but this new iteration of the derogatory expressions of opinion was even more deadly. With the help of the internet, hate speech could now reach a broader audience than ever before, some of that audience being underage or a part of the groups targeted by these acts of aggression. This has resulted in a years-long battle in the courts over where the line is between protecting people from hate speech and protecting people's right to freedom of speech.

This conversation is shaping more than just the type of content allowed on certain sites: it is also changing the way Americans think about the documents that make up the basis of their country. But does this affect the way people think of themselves in terms of the American identity? To answer this question, I interviewed random individuals on the subject. Here are a few of their responses.

Anonymous

Q: In your opinion, what is the impact of hate speech?

A: I think hate speech makes everyone feel unwelcome. Obviously, people who have hate speech directed at them are affected the most, but I also think hate speech can destroy whole communities. No one feels comfortable being in a hateful community, and that makes everyone involved feel unsafe and unwelcome.

Q: In your opinion, what's the impact of freedom of speech?

A: I think freedom of speech is incredibly important. Besides being a fundamental part of the American Identity, it gives citizens the ability to voice their opinions even if they are in the minority or their opinion isn't shared by others. Overall, I would say this provides a safer and more inclusive community.

Q: In your opinion, what role does freedom of speech play in American Identity? Why?

A: I think freedom of speech is probably one of the most important pieces of the American Identity. Stopping government censorship was a key piece in the founding of our nation and has become ingrained in American society. I think it is also one of the most exercised Constitutional Rights, making it apply to the everyday lives of almost every American.

Q: How important is American Identity to you, personally?

A: As an American, I would say the American Identity is really important to me. It's a fundamental part of my knowledge of how the world works around me and what I can expect from the world.

Q: Which do you think is more important: safeguarding people's right to free speech or protecting citizens from the effects of hate speech? Explain.

A: I think that safeguarding the right of free speech is more important than protecting citizens from hate speech. Allowing hate speech to be censored is a slippery slope to allowing other opinions to be censored. Hate speech is awful, and it's horrible that it can be 'protected' under freedom of speech, but I think the importance of freedom of speech and how it relates to exposing corruption and expressing Identity is more important.

Maya, 16 years old

Q: In your opinion, what is the impact of hate speech?

A: The virtual and physical cannot be and are not separated. The misogyny online translates to the misogyny [in real life]. Laura Bates' book "The New Age of Sexism: How AI and Emerging Technologies Are Reinventing Misogyny" is good on this.

Q: In your opinion, what's the impact of freedom of speech?

A: The great thing: everyone has a voice. The bad thing: some people use their voice for harm.

Q: In your opinion, what role does freedom of speech play in American Identity? Why?

A: A big one: it's our first constitutional amendment; it shapes how we move through the world, behave, think, and understand information.

Q: How important is American Identity to you, personally?

A: It's become more important to me more recently, over time. America is very flawed, but it is my home, and I want to protect it. I want to make it better. It already is so much better than other places around the world, of which I am grateful all the time.

Q: Which do you think is more important: safeguarding people's right to free speech or protecting citizens from the effects of hate speech? Explain.

A: People's right to free speech [is more important]. When free speech is allowed, yes, people will use it for hate and cruelty and evil, but that in and of itself is better than not letting anyone talk at all.

Anonymous

Q: In your opinion, what is the impact of hate speech?

A: Hate speech is about control and keeping a certain demographic under control.

Q: In your opinion, what's the impact of freedom of speech?

A: [No answer given.]

Q: In your opinion, what role does freedom of speech play in American Identity? Why?

A: Freedom of speech allows for the expansion of ideas and exposure to cultures. It keeps (theoretically) the government in check. It has been and continues to be very important in American Identity (assuming that means the identity of a citizen of the U.S.A.).

Q: How important is American Identity to you, personally?

A: Very important.

Q: Which do you think is more important: safeguarding people's right to free speech or protecting citizens from the effects of hate speech? Explain.

A: They are obviously both important, but I'm not sure how you would protect against hate speech without free speech.

These are only a select few of the interviews conducted, but the answers these individuals gave are reflective of the broader trend. No matter what people thought about the impact of hate speech and free speech, a majority of them concluded that while hate speech was important to protect against, free speech should be defended as hard as it can. As for its impact on people's American Identity, the results were inconclusive.