I was motivated by curiosity and challenge. Hacking was just a way of expressing that curiosity. I would go thru weird technical manuals just for the sheer enjoyment of learning how something worked. As for programming, that's totally arbitrary. There were no commercial ISPs or ways you could set up your OWN system, and if you weren't in college there was no legit way to get an account or an email address.
Freedom of expression is very important to hackers.
Anything that seriously stifles that is wrong. First of all, hacking is, by it's very nature, a GOOD thing. It's about exploring and pushing the boundaries of knowledge. Hacking is not just related to computers. That sounds flippant, but it's true.