Free Speech

If a referendum were held today regarding the adoption of the First Amendment I don't know if it would pass. That is not to say that the adoption of the First Amendment would not pass, but if a referendum were held, today what is the context of its environment? Is it much like it was when the arguments first began? Does this question consider the impact that the internet and social media has today? If so, then the answer is yes! The adoption of the First Amendment would undoubtedly pass.

However, one may argue that without the adoption of the First Amendment we may not have the invention of the internet or social media anyway. The internet is something that thrives off of the principles found in the First Amendment and this is true for almost the entire world (except countries like China who has certain bans on certain internet sites like Facebook). So, if there was a law forbidding the freedom of expression/speech/press, etc., then the invention of the internet may have never happened. Regardless, in the end, the adoption of the First Amendment was inevitable because the principles found in the First Amendment are the very principles that brought the English settlers to America. With that in mind, these people were in search of a world that gave them freedom from the tyranny of the English crown--which included things like being punished for speaking against the practices of the English crown.