1st Amendment Interview
The people I interviewed consisted of an 18 year old American female who just started college, a 33 year old Colombian woman who is married and has two kids, a 34 year old single man who is from Canada, a 35 year old American single man who is a full time construction/ architecture student, a 50 year old American single mother, and a 56 year old Mexican landscaper. All of them agree with the freedoms, the Colombian woman did not think that this law is actually practice by the government, and the Canadian man questioned if the media should be granted total freedom, two Americans showed great enthusiasm about the law, while both the 50 years old American woman and 56 years old Mexican man just reply with extremely short answers.
I really enjoyed this activity; I realized that in this case gender did not play a role in the way people responded to the questions. I saw more differences in the answers according to nationality and age group. I thought that it would be important to include their answers in this blog because they all seem so interesting.
The following are the exact answers of the people who I interviewed:
18 year old American female
I would approve it and I do agree. This is the first amendment of the
constitution, so yes I do recognize it. I think the constitution is well written and I think if it were to be changed then it would leave some people out in the cold. If people don’t have the right to speak their mind peaceably then how are we going to petition laws? I agree with the constitution.
33 year old Colombian female
I’ll be brief with my response because I’m writing on my phone. Hope it helps.
1. I agree. I would support this. I think as long as none of the above hurt others in the process.
2. I don’t think any of these are too farfetched. They are basic freedoms of speech and religion.
3. Isn’t part of the constitution? Sound familiar yet don’t think it’s actually practiced too often by the government.
34 year old Canadian male
- I agree with the freedoms listed in that passage. How one expresses themselves and what religion they choose are not a choice, but a belief. Though laws can be passed to prohibit harmful behavior, intrinsic belief systems of individuals cannot be regulated.
- Sometimes I question whether the media, not just print but all formats, should be granted total freedom or in some way regulated. The same individuals who benefit from the freedoms granted by the constitution need to also be protected against abuse of those freedoms such as intrusive acts or harassment.
- Yes this is the first amendment of the United States’ Constitution.I’m not American incidentally, I’m Canadian. I’m 34 years old. What type of assignment is this; a survey?
35 year old American male
1) Absolutely I agree. This is what makes America so DAMN special, forward-thinking, accepting of diversity, receptive to criticism, etc… This is what has allowed our country to evolve so much in such a short period of time. Only 60 years ago, black and white kids couldn’t go to the same school or share a drinking fountain. A couple protests later, and we now have a black president. That could never happen in many other countries.
3) Yes, I recognize it. It’s the constitution’s first amendment! It’s probably just as important if not more important the original constitution. I experienced goose-bumps all over my body when I was in boot camp, and my drill sergeant inspired us new recruits by saying “this is what we are fighting for”. As soldiers and sailors we’re not permitted to practice freedom of speech, but we risk our lives to protect civilians’ right to have freedom of speech and expression.
50 year old American female
1. Agree
2. None
3.Yes
56 year old Mexican male
- Agree
- They all seem reasonable
- I think is in the constitution??
