The Importance of Freedom of Speech

I believe free speech is one of the most fundamental things that we can have as a society, and should be protected, as it is the backbone to political debate and sharing opinions with others. I think free speech is something that many take for granted, and don't know how lucky they are to have it protected under law, when so many people don't have that privilege. Furthermore, it gives people the opportunity to be critical of others, the government, and ideas that they disagree with, to bring in new debates on issues that they feel passionate about and want to change. Without free speech we have a limited voice, and our liberty is constricted and controlled – only the ideas that those in power want to hear are spoken, which isn't good for any functional democracy. In the UK and some Western nations, we have free speech protected in the law or constitution, whereas some countries, such as China, North Korea and Syria, they don't have the privilege to say what they want, to criticise there government, and in some cases express their political beliefs publicly, like we can, as they can be arrested or even risk their life by doing so. Hopefully in the future this will change for the countries where their speech is limited, but in the meantime, those who can speak should use their voice to defend those under harsh, authoritarian regimes. I think free speech is especially important in school, so pupils can share their opinions freely, and see how others think, without it being dictated by their political affiliation. In addition to this, free speech in the classroom helps us make progress as a society and to move forward into a more tolerant place.

One of the main debates I see frequently when people are critical of free speech is that they think people's feelings should come before freedom, and sometimes, people will say something unpleasant to one another, that they might choose to be offended by, but one thing can be found offensive by one person and not by another, so there isn't necessarily one thing that's right or wrong. This has been shown in many political debates, where someone says something that is deemed controversial and gets frowned upon, but when debated and listened to, many end up agreeing. In society today, especially on social media, we see examples of mass censorship of certain ideas, that may not fit the popular narrative, or seem too harsh to be online. But censoring them isn't the answer, the answer is debate and discussion about why they feel that way, which is much better for a democracy than shutting away their voice and opinion because it isn't seen as politically correct.

In conclusion freedom of speech is something that we should all see as important and should be protected, not dangerous or harmful, as it plays a very pivotal part in our daily lives. Moreover, free speech is great for the minority voices in society, those who feel that their voice hasn't previously been heard or listened to. This goes with a famous quote, "I may disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it".