> The 1st amendment itself refers to "freedom of speech" so there is absolutely a principle that exists outside of the 1st amendment. I wouldn't say "absolutel

> The 1st amendment itself refers to "freedom of speech" so there is absolutely a principle that exists outside of the 1st amendment. I wouldn't say "absolutely" [1], but yes. At the risk of being too direct: I think we both know this is obvious. Do you have a finer point to make? > There is absolutely an argument to be made that the scope of the 1st is too narrow to protect freedom of speech in the US. I wouldn't say "absolutely" [1], but I tend to agree. This does raise a follow-up question: To what degree do you think free speech should be protected in the US? How do you balance it against other principles? All of this said, I still stand by my commentary above, including (a) the unimpressive quality of argumentation and communication on HN; (b) a lack of understanding of how 1A and free speech interrelate; and (c) people here are not hopeless; they have the intellectual ability to do better -- if they only put a bit more effort into what they put out into the world. [1] Are you aware of the pitfalls of using "absolutely"? I recommend reading https://www.dailywritingtips.com/absolutely/ https://www.dailywritingtips.com/absolutely/