may be applied to a specific definition. The definition may include hate speech that causes physical violence, or mental instability. However, the codes must be parallel to the First Amendment because of the potential for falling down the “slippery slope.” In summation, the government should not regulate speech in colleges, but the colleges should protect the educational environment by creating codes that allow free expression and deny the right for one person to incite violence using hate speech.Another problem that plagues society is the hate speech regularly found in the workplace. There are already laws regulating harassment in the workplace, so the question really becomes, why is there a law about harassment, but not hate speech? The answer is found somewhere in the fear that the government will begin sliding down the slope of speech restrictions until no one is safe to open one’s mouth. Fortunately, the slippery slope does not exist. This can be proven using at least one historical reference. For example, the Smith Act, which allows prosecution for the knowing acquisition or holding membership in any organization which advocates the overthrow of the government of the United States by force or violence, has been used in the past to suppress terrorist activity in the United States (Scales 1). However, the only people affected by this statute were those who had intentions of causing harm, not the average person who merely wants to protest government action (2). Also, one could argue that freedom of speech, expression, and organization, have been limited by this law. True, the freedoms of some were limited by the law, but there is no substantial need for terrorists to be able to organize, just as there is no substantial need for hate speech in the workplace.By eliminating hate speech, the Federal Government will not be attacking one’s right to have an opinion. Instead, the government will be protec...
