Understanding a Dilemma

Understanding a Dilemma

Napoleon Bonaparte once said, “A people which is able to say everything becomes able to do everything.” The First Amendment protects the right of each citizen to express their thoughts and beliefs and their right to gather with others who share those thoughts and beliefs. The founding fathers put such high value on these human rights that they were placed prominently in our Constitution, and they fought fiercely to secure them for a new nation. However, our nation has changed significantly since its founding with advancements in technology and continues to change every day. The rise of online forums and social networking has new implications for freedom of speech, both positive and negative.

The Internet has made it possible for people to communicate and express their opinions on a global level. With the click of a mouse, individuals can now share their views with a wide range of people. Social networking sites, such as Facebook, MySpace, and Twitter, create an online community where individuals express themselves and can seek out others who are like-minded. Individuals form Facebook groups and create pages and petitions devoted to various topics and causes such the First Amendment, immigration, the war in Iraq, etc. Blogs and personal web sites are other forms of online media that can allow any ordinary person to spread their beliefs and views to people across the world. In the past, people without the means often found it difficult to reach a significant number of people in order to disseminate a point of view or issue a call to action on a particular issue, but now anyone with access to a computer can become a social commentator and, in some cases, attain a level celebrity that gives even more weight and influence to their opinions. For example, YouTube videos are uploaded daily with the capacity to reach millions, not only for entertainment purposes but also to spread a message.

Freedom of speech via online medium also allows...