The Value Of Freedom Of Speech

The Value Of Freedom Of Speech

I was in the process of writing another piece for the blog this week when the story of Paris overtook. At the time of writing, it is a few hours after both the sieges were brought to an end with the three gunmen and four hostages losing their lives and two days after the attack at Charlie Hebdo magazine. It is an immensely depressing and tragic story with such pointless waste of life and nothing I could write here would be able to add any sense to these events.

One of the areas that have come under focus as a result of the initial shootings is the subject of free speech. There has been a narrative in the printed, broadcasted and social media about the importance of freedom of speech and in particular the importance of being able to satirise and even offend particular groups. It is a narrative I am genuinely struggling to decide where I sit as I find myself with a strong dose of cognitive dissonance.

One side of my scales fully agrees and understands the power and importance of being able to express my views, opinions and feelings without fear that during the night I won’t be visited by a band of government soldiers, bundled in the back of a transit and taken to some remote ‘black site’ detention centre. It sounds dramatic and exaggerated and yet this simple and basic right is deprived from too many people worldwide and for others to express the kind of views I discuss here which are hardly provocative or ground-breaking could lose people their liberty and in the worst cases their lives. To live in a country where far left and right wing views can not only be expressed, they can underpin a political movement or media outlet is a freedom and right that should never be taken for granted and always defended, however challenging we may find the views expressed. I get that, I understand that, I am aware of what happens in a state where these rights are not given and I would always defend the right for an individual to be able to express their views, beliefs and values without any fear of repercussions. And yet, is it quite that simple and straightforward?

The other side of the scales finds me both questioning the factual content of what I have stated but more importantly the beliefs and values of this previously stated view. Let me deal with the factual aspect.

To say that we live in a country of free speech is way too much of generalization to be useful. The example of going into a cinema and shouting ‘Fire’ has been used repeatedly on the BBC these past few days. Also, I run a diversity & inclusion workshop for a broad range of public and private organisations. ‘The Equality Act’ (2010) stipulates a list of offences that would constitute discriminatory behaviour, that including verbal and written language. So the principles of freedom of speech quite rightly have some caveats attached, which provide recourse for individuals who have been discriminated against.

Due to the subject matter of the cartoons in Charlie Hebdo, freedom of speech in relation to religion has been discussed and I have heard it said by more than one commentator on the BBC (Question Time & This Week) about our rights to say what we like about these faiths and religions however offended people may be. It seems to put all the weight on rights but very little on responsibilities. Now I have to be careful here that I don’t become a hypocrite in this as I have been very critical of some religions and denominations including the denomination in which I was raised. My criticisms (which are many) are not aimed at anyone’s beliefs but of specific people’s behaviour and a willingness to demand a certain standard from others whilst behaving way below that benchmark themselves. Also if people preach and state their views as fact, it is right that these views are challenged. The fascinating thing about any conversation regarding faith is it will always remain an unknown to us at this time.

Personally, my experience is the vast majority of people I know, faith isn’t really discussed. We all hold certain things to be true and value certain things to be of importance to us. These can be hard to verbalise or justify because they are by nature intangible. I guess it is why so many books of faith rely on stories and metaphor to explain complex and ambiguous morals. Therefore the right just to offend for the sake of offending is not one that sits well with me at all. It may be our right, but surely with those rights comes an equal level of responsibility.

In the museums that remember and bare witness to The Holocaust at The Imperial War Museum and Auschwitz (two places I have visited on numerous occasions) there are sections about Nazi propaganda against Jews and Judaism both pre war and during the war in Europe. The walls are covered with cartoons that were used on magazines and other publications showing native Jews as either rats or fat and rich tyrants living off the wealth that should have belonged to German nationals. Whilst I understand that people may not agree with this next statement, thematically they are not too far removed from the cartoons Charlie Hebdo. I would agree they are far more direct in their discrimination although I recognize this is a statement, which can only be judged by each individual. The key difference between these two examples for me is time. With the Nazi example we can play the tape forward and these cartoons become but a small part of the jigsaw and timeline that moves towards The Final Solution. When looked at in this context, it is very easy to judge these not as a shining example of freedom of speech and something that is worth fighting for but with shock and shame and a sense of disbelief – ‘How was this kind of thing allowed to happen?’

So, there’s my dissonance. I was hoping at the end of writing this I would have made sense of my own views and be able to at least understand myself my contradictions. Our freedoms are key to our way of life. We live in a country where this right has been so established in our way of life it is easy to take for granted and as such it can lose its value. I hope this right is never lost for children, my future generations and me. No one has the right to say what ever we value and belief is wrong and this is a two-sided coin. I hope as this continues to be discussed over the coming days and weeks the freedom of free speech is balanced with the personal responsibilities we should all balance these rights with.