Free Speech

 

 Canada’s Charter of Rights and Freedoms acknowledges that all citizens of Canada have fundamental freedoms that are subject only to “such reasonable limits prescribed by law as can be demonstrably justified in a free and democratic society”. These fundamental freedoms are:

“(a) freedom of conscience and religion;

(b) freedom of thought, belief, opinion and expression, including freedom of the

press and other media of communication;

(c) freedom of peaceful assembly; and

(d) freedom of association.”

What I wish to draw your attention to is item b) which can best be summarised as “freedom of speech and freedom of the press”.

Why are they important? There is a newspaper in the US that has the byline “democracy dies in darkness”. I find it ironic that a newspaper that has become notorious for promoting an orthodoxy chose to wrap itself under that line, but I digress. The issue is one where we, if we consider ourselves a free people, need to be aware of the politics that surround us. Some of those politics serve to bind us, others serve to divide us and yet others serve to subjugate us. It therefore is imperative that we expose ourselves to dissenting views to ensure we are not being lied to. Otherwise, we are seriously at risk of losing the freedoms that we associate with being a democracy.

While the political spectrum is broad it can be simplified in that there are two end members to that spectrum. One that values independence and one that values power. The latter typically is manifested by a large impassionate government ruled by a tyrant and supported by petty tyrants.

Back in the days of “The Enlightenment” (17^th and 18^th centuries) one philosophy that became generally accepted was that of “liberalism” whereby the freedom of the individual is protected and enhanced with a major proponent being John Locke. It is from this “liberalism” that sprung the ideas laid down in our Charter of Rights and Freedoms. We accept that we are masters of our own destiny, but we must also respect the rights of others. It is here that we run into difficulty in that many amongst us use perverse language to persuade the rest of us to give up our personal liberties. I for one am for cooperation with others, as that has many benefits, and is a character trait of humans yet is seldom exhibited by other species. But not at the price of giving up my freedom.

It was through revolution that the concept of freedom of speech and of the press became understood to being an important protector of our independence. When dissent can act then truth can become evident. And the only way dissent can be heard is if we retain the right to be exposed to dissenting opinions and ideas so that we can best gauge where the truth lies. Because those who are more interested in power rely on falsehoods. It is easier to take away an individual’s freedom if they can be fooled into believing it is for their own good, or the good of others by taking advantage of our innate altruism – the willingness to help others.

Even though free speech and freedom of the press are so important for the survival of our democratic society I for one am very troubled by the willingness of so many of us to give up these freedoms. We see that with so many media sources who only pay lip service to presenting dissenting views. Their dishonesty is easy to see. All one needs to do is look where they present “opinion”. If they show an unmistakable bias toward one viewpoint that media source has “turned to the dark side”.

This is a good point to look briefly at the “Star Wars” movies as they are collectively an allegory between two opposing forces (freedom versus power or good versus evil); “The Rebellion” and “The Empire”. Which side do you believe represents you? The one that uses any method available to regain their freedom or the group that believes “order” is paramount, and no dissent is tolerated? Yet many of us see ourselves as being members of the “rebel alliance” but insist on curtailing or even eliminating the rights and freedoms of others; we actually embody “The Empire”.

Take for example any person who accepts that “hate speech” is not acceptable in a “free society”. They are promoting the curtailment of the right to dissent; “free speech”. All you must do is ask yourself, “what is hate”? If a person uses the word “hate” in a sentence does that then make it “hate speech”? If the best you can come up with is some subjective explanation, then you have fallen into the trap of willingly giving power to those who should not have it. Similarly, any media source that believes a “diversity of views” means having more than one person saying the same basic idea rather than presenting truly dissenting views has also succumbed. In both cases they have in Star Wars parlance, “turned to the Dark side”.

In closing all of us need to reflect carefully on where we personally stand. Is freedom of speech and freedom of the press important to you?  If yes, then welcome to the “light side”. Our democracy will not founder if we allow the light of truth. As Leonardo da Vinci said, “Beyond a doubt truth bears the same relation to falsehood as light to darkness.”