Importance Of The First Amendment Essay

"The First Amendment of the United States Bill of Rights reads as follows, “Congress shall make no law...abridging the freedom of speech” (Bill of Rights, Amendment 1, 1791). The amendment, along with the other first 10 amendments to the United States Constitution, were created out of demand by the people of the United States, who were concerned that the United States Constitution did not guarantee the rights of United States citizens. The Americans had just recently won a war against the British Empire, gaining independence in the process, and they feared that not including some of the rights of man as part of the constitution could lead to a continuation of the tyranny the Americans faced under the colonial system. The First Amendment was created to guarantee that any American could say anything they wanted without punishment,

In the premier episode, The President of the United States, Josiah Bartlet--played by Martin Sheen-- is asked if the fact that children could buy pornography for five dollars on any street corner is a too high a price to pay for free speech. Bartlet responds saying, “No, on the other hand I think that five dollars is too high a price to pay for pornography” (Aaron Sorkin, West Wing Season 1 Episode 1, 1999). Free speech, no matter what division or anger it incites, is the pinnacle of democracy and freedom, and ignoring this right, or putting any laws into place that threaten this freedom, could cause a slippery slope that results in an abolishment of democracy itself. After all if my opinion about a possible law hurts your feelings and you stop me from saying it then how can I vote for such a thing, because my vote reflects my speech, which you have prevented my from expressing. Limiting free speech in any way is too high a price to pay for security, or purity, or any other admirable quality a human can