Author: Zach Komes
Country: USA
"In a free state, tongues too should be free." ~Erasmus (1516)
Freedom of Speech is a heavily debated topic, which Erasmus says best. But what exactly does 'free' mean?
On dictionary.com, there are 49 definitions of the word. The simplest way to describe it is “able to do something at will”.
Freedom of Speech is a complex subject, and I hope I’ll make you think about your own opinion on it.
Until the 1980s, when the internet started getting popular, freedom of speech was simply 'expressing oneself’s opinion'. But when every person on the planet had access to articluate, the government starts to frenzy.
Shouldn’t there be rules on what you can and can’t do?
That’s exactly what they wanted. They wanted to limit what the public had access to, to read what everyone was saying, and even hurt people who had different views than the government itself.
Freedom of speech is one of the rights people died, and die, for today. In China, journalist Shi Tao remains in prison for sharing information with a U.S.-based website using his Yahoo! Email account. With information supplied to government authorities by Yahoo!, Shi Tao was convicted and received a ten-year sentence. Nguyen Vu Binh was jailed in Vietnam in 2002 for writing and posting articles about democracy on the Internet and campaigning for human rights. Even prominent heroes like Martin Luther King, Jr., Mahatma Gandhi and Nelson Mandela were all jailed because they stood up for what they believed in.
In my opinion, Freedom of Speech is something everyone on earth should have access to. I think there should not be any rules about it except one; you should not hurt anyone with a different opinion than your's.
But what can we do to make sure that our Freedom of Speech rights are not violated?
Keep blogging your ideas on human rights and other global issues. You can also support Amnesty International. Make sure to visit EFF.org, a campaign to secure our digital rights. At the website, you can join the Blue Ribbon Campaign, a campaign to supports blogger rights. I hope you’ll continue to think about others, and support the idea of the freedom of expression.
“Think for yourselves and let others enjoy the privilege to do so, too.” ~Voltaire
Image Credit: www.fontcraft.com
Sources: Wikipedia, Dictionary.com, Quote Garden, Amnesty International, and EFF.org
5 comments:
very cool pic Zach ;)
and the topic is awesome, =P anyways gr8 article... it was just fab!
freedom of speech is a basic human right, but there should be limitations right?
;)
First of all good to see you sending over such a fine article Zach. And I am quite impressed.
However, freedom of speech, in my opinion, needs to have restrictions. What about official secrets that pertain to matters of national security. Can a person (say the head of CIA) go on rattling about sensitive information about undercover agents in a terrorist organisation in his blog?
In the case of the Danish cartoonist, embassies got burnt because of the cartoons he drew (personally I think that comes under the freedom of speech). But for complete and total freedom of speech to be allowed, don't you think it would be possible only in an ideal world?
I look forward to hearing from you on this.:)
But once again great job.:)
This is a great article, Zach, and I must say you may start a heated up debate over the topic. I absolutely support freedom of speech without restrictions, and as you say, we could talk whatever we like as long as we do not disrespect someone else. Had to learn it the hard way with my Anthropology written report :P.
And I love your quotes, especially Voltaire's. Well chosen, I dare say.
freedom of speech is such a controversial topic .. especially when it comes to defining it and the parameters about it .. but you went about this article so well, without seeming like you were on any side, but still not being a wimp about what you're saying .. excellent!
oh and about what i think .. i totally think ti depends on the situation.. i don't think there is, or ever will be, a universal definition and universal boundaries/parameters when it comes to free speech .. but i hope some day people stop using those boundaries to stop people from saying what they have to say ..
awesome !!
xo Medha
Thanks allot guys! I'm happy to write for A2I for the first time, and I'll try to keep writing on controversial issues ;)
To Ash, Noor, Medha .. I agree with you both; you should not be able to hurt one's feelings. But again, we cannot make too many restrictions; or it won't be Freedom of Speech at all.
Thanks again guys (and Vic too!).
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