Does freedom of speech mean that it is okay to tell lies or to deliberately distort the facts? Would you want to do this and if not do you defend the rights of others to do exactly that?
I'm a bit confused over this 'Freedom of Speech' thing. I am all for 'Freedom of Speech' but only when it has good intentions and only when there is some truth in it.
If your freedom of speech damages me or the community or threatens our future safety in some way then surely I / we must have the legal option to do something about it. How would any of us feel if we woke up tomorrow and found a load of lies printed in the press about us - Lies which damaged our employment,our relationships, our home life, our future safety etc. The right to take legal action isn’t there purely as a means of putting the records straight. It is designed to prevent people / the press from telling damaging lies in the first place but it only works if people or the authorities exercise that right every now and again. How far does freedom of speech go? What if I started a rumour saying that I believed you had murdered or sexually assaulted someone and produced some photoshopped evidence? What if I wrote to your employers for no good reason and told them that I believed you were stealing from them or told them about your outside activities? Would you be prepared to say that I had a right to freedom of speech and expression and would you defend that right? Surely our freedom of speech must be balanced against another's right to prevent it in the first place or to set the records straight.
Freedom of speech is okay if you are expressing a truth and you can prove it. If it is a lie or a misrepresentation, which is likely to cause damage, should it be allowed to go on under the banner of 'Free Speech'? Should people be allowed to incite racial hatred or attempt to change the history books or put doubt in people's minds without any proof? Is it a good idea?
Hope this makes sense, and I am sorry if it is waffling on a bit but I'm struggling with an illness. Typical! I get a week off work and I immediately become ill.
NB This post has been prompted by the recent Irving Case. Freedom of speech seems to be popping its head up everywhere.
17 comments:
freedom of speech does not mean freedom to hurt nor harm.
get well soon {{kat}}
Freedom of speech in most cases, are being misused for projecting distorted facts or for false propaganda.
If facts are supported by enough provable evidence, then freedom of speech can be considered fair.
The fact remains to be seen as to who will decide and verify the evidences and who will you trust in this corrupt world.
Yes, Jac. I feel we are all being faced with a lot of propaganda at the moment.
Boo - I totally agree with that.
You are right about freedom of speech. It is a great idea in theory - but in reality - maybe not such a great thing.
It can be taken too far... and usually is.
Kat - you say "What if I wrote to your employers for no good reason and told them that I believed you were stealing from them or told them about your outside activities? Would you be prepared to say that I had a right to freedom of speech and expression and would you defend that right?"
No, I wouldn't defend that, because you would have committed an offence against me, in this case defamation. I'd sue you!
Freedom of speech is about freedom of opinion. So Irving's ludicrous claim that the holocaust was all a storm in a teacup isn't a matter of opinion, it's a matter of fact, and therefore not covered by freedom of speech.
Great post Kat and I hope you feel betterer soon
Kat, I got tagged by Mrs Lifecruiser and now I have to tag some others. HOPE you don`t mind my namiong you as one of my tage.Thanks.
On my blog you will find the questions asked me by Mrs lifeCruiser.
In case you don`t have my blog, it is:
Dot`s Thoughts
Dot`s Thoughts is my blog title
didn't we go over this already? ;)
Since our previous discussion on freedom of speech I've been thinking about it a lot and talking about it to other people.
when you say 'I am all for 'Freedom of Speech' but only when it has good intentions and only when there is some truth in it' you immediately run into trouble I think, who decides wether it has good intentions and/or truth?
I am still in favour of 'ultimate free speech', the right to say anything at any time to anyone. However, I must clarify that I always assume people are reasonable creatures and will self-censor to a degree and also will not intentionally harm other. So far, I've been proven wrong a number of times on both counts and still I hang on to these thoughts ;)
Wikipedia has some interesting things to say on the subject:
The right to freedom of expression is not absolute; governments may still prohibit certain damaging types of expressions. Under international law, restrictions on free speech are required to comport with a strict three part test: they must be provided by law, pursue an aim recognized as legitimate, and be necessary (i.e., proportionate) for the accomplishment of that aim. Amongst the aims considered legitimate are protection of the rights and reputations of others (prevention of defamation), and the protection of national security and public order, health and morals. It is generally recognised that restrictions should be the exception and free expression the rule; nevertheless, compliance with this principle is often lacking.
from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freedom_Of_Speech
Well, there I go again, writing a comment longer than the original post :P
I completely agree with you Kat. But there are many out there who prefer to distort the whole issue and twist it to suit.
I've been fairly fed up with the online world lately for the amount of crap that gets twisted based on "free speech". Glad to see this post because you've said what I feel but can't articulate lately.
I hope you feel better soon {hug}
Hi Michiel,
"who decides whether it has good intentions and/or truth?"
You are of course right with this and sometimes it takes a long time for a just cause to be settled or a long time before it is even recognised as a just cause. If there is something fair and just to fight for we should do it and not be afraid to speak up and fight on.
( In a lawful way - by debate or protest)
I don't think however that we can use 'free speech' as an excuse to be rude, hurt others, or spread deliberate lies and propaganda. I think the term 'free speech' is very much misused by those who simply believe that it is their right to behave badly or by those who want their own way regardless of other people's rights and opinions. Have you noticed that people very often use the term when they have no other legitimate or reasonable excuse for doing what they are doing. If you have a justifiable cause you speak up and justify it. It isn't good enough to say something and then say 'I've said it because I want to and it is my right to use verbal diarrhoea'. :-)
Thanks for the wikipedia quote.
We've just got our local swimming baths back by the right of protest and free speech but we never mentioned 'free speech' we just talked about the facts and our swimming baths.:-)
Echomouse - I am feeling much better now thanks but I did have a rough weekend. I slept most of Sunday and Monday.
Rob - Yes, freedom of speech is about opinion but all too often I see and hear people trying to inflict their ideas and opinions on others via distortion of the facts, or by telling deliberate lies. When they are proved wrong or caught lying they cite 'Freedom of Speech' and expect to carry on as before. Should they be allowed to? The reason I don't think they should is that they are likely to corrupt people, especially younger people, who do not realise that the facts have or had been distorted.
Hi Dot,
I've done this one before. It can be viewed here. Your version also asks for a motto and a favourite saying. These are:
Motto - Hold Fast
Saying - Where there is a will, there is a way.
Kat "When they are proved wrong or caught lying they cite 'Freedom of Speech' and expect to carry on as before. Should they be allowed to?" No, absolutely not. I don't think we are disagreeing here. Of course, we're *always* right, anyway...
Rob - I'm sure we're not disagreeing. :-)
I believe in freedom of speech but you can't scream "Fire" in a crowded movie house. Unfortunately people, governments, religions, cultures all lie so there will always be problems. There are no laws against people being mean or being idiots.
"There are no laws against people being mean or being idiots"
heh, that'd be fun ;)
we could have idiot fines, and public ridicule of meanies.
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