In this survey, 3 members of each generation were surveyed.
Older – Ages 30 and up
Younger – Younger than 30
Subjects:
- White female (45)
- White male (63)
- Hispanic female (41)
- White male (19)
- White female (21)
- White male (6)
QUESTIONS | OLDER GENERATION | YOUNGER GENERATION |
Do you agree or disagree with the freedoms? | 1. Yes 2. Partially 3. Yes | 4. Yes 5. Yes 6. No |
Which do you agree with, and which do you think provide too much freedom? | 1. Agrees with all 2. Agrees with all but freedom of protest 3. Agrees with all | 4. Agrees with all 5. Agrees with all 6. Agrees with all except freedom of religion |
Do you recognize the law? | 1. Yes 2. Yes 3. Yes (100% recognition) | 4. No 5. Yes 6. No (33% recognition) |
Political leaning? | 1. Moderate Republican 2. Republican 3. Independent | 4. Democrat 5. Moderate Democrat 6. Not sure |
Analysis
All of the older generation was able to recognize the law, but only one from the younger generation could. These responses can be traced to the level of education each group has received, since the younger group may not be as familiar with the law yet. Most everyone agreed with all the freedoms provided, except the two outliers of the groups.
Interpretation
These patterns show more about the amount of exposure each group has gotten in the world. They all are supportive overall, but some critiqued certain parts of the law they thought needed to be changed. The older subject who partially disagreed said that the government needed to step in if protests were harmful. The younger one, who didn’t agree with freedom of religion said that they didn’t want anyone to go to Hell. Aside from those two, every other subject was supportive of the law.
Evaluation
All of the subjects tended to base their decisions off of their personal experiences and what was important to them and their community. Typically, the older the subject, the more they knew about the first amendment. The only answers that were alarming are the two that didn’t agree with the first amendment. The child who did not may have just been very sheltered, and has not experienced much in the world yet. The older one seemed more concerned with protecting his land.
Engagement
Like in the article posted, I also found that the white men I surveyed felt that the first amendment provided too much freedom. The women and younger children believed it was satisfactory, or needed to provide more freedom.