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Zack Vegso

January 26, 2017

Prof. Intawiwat

Eng. 111 128

This I Believe Essay

Freedom of Speech

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free

exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people

peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

First Amendment of the United States Constitution

I believe that we as people have the right to express our opinions freely, without

censorship, or restraint, or the fear or legal penalty. I believe that no government should penalize

someone merely for expressing their views. I believe that this right is a fundamental aspect of

Western Democracy and key to having a free and open society. I believe in the right to free

speech.

Im what some might call a free speech absolutist. I believe that all people have the right

to express their views no matter what. If people hold views that are at odds with the views of

others, their views are still protected under the right to free speech. You as a human being have

the right to criticize, scrutinize, or satirize any idea you damn well please. Or any government.

Or any institution. Anything. You have the right to voice your views without censorship.
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However, freedom of speech is a two-way street. Even if people find ones views

offensive, hateful, racist, xenophobic, bigoted, or otherwise repugnant, their views, like them or

not, are still protected under the right to free speech. The right to free speech gives people the

right to offend. In fact it is a key principle of free speech. Without the right to offend, the right to

free speech becomes meaningless.

But there are some people, even in the western world, who still dont believe in free

speech. This was brought to light during a small public event in February of 2015 in

Copenhagen, Denmark called Art, Blasphemy, and Freedom of Expression. A women is there,

a Ukrainian feminist activist names Inna Shevchenko. She is there speaking about freedom of

speech. Yes it is free speech, but and the turning point is but. Why do we still say but

when we she is then interrupted by the ring of gunshots, as a Islamic terrorist open fires on

their meeting, killing one and injuring three (he would later attack a synagogue, killing a second

person and injuring two more). That terrorist didnt believe in free speech. He didnt agree with

the views of those at the event. He didnt like how one of the key speakers at the event (not

Shevchenko) had drawn cartoons of Muhammad. He didnt like that Jews had the right to

practice their religion freely. So he launched his attack. And it wasnt just one isolated incident.

A similar attack occurred at the offices of Charlie Hebdo in Paris, France just one month earlier,

killing twelve innocent people (with subsequent attacks killing six more).

And the terrorist chose, chillingly, to launch his attack right as the speaker was making

her point: That too many people in the world dont believe in true freedom of speech. They

believe in freedom of speech, but Yes I believe in freedom of speech, but dont be

offensive. Or Yes I believe in freedom of speech, but dont be provocative. Or dont be

hateful. Or dont be irresponsible. These are the people who dont realize that free speech is a
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two-way street. They want to police other peoples speech. They want free speech, but only for

views which they agree with. Thats not what free speech is. Free speech allows us to have a free

and open debate, to speak your mind and have honest conversations about sensitive topics. I have

my own personal views, but Im still willing to listen to views that differ than my own. Many

people like to promote diversity. But diversity is not skin-deep. Do not neglect the diversity of

ideas. It is as important as any other type of diversity.

The United States, in its Constitution, has the First Amendment, which among other

things protects our right to free speech. Other countries dont have this. In fact many Western

countries implement whats known as hate speech laws. Hate speech is defined as speech which

attacks a person or group on the basis of gender, ethnic origin, religion, race, disability, or sexual

orientation. Laws against hate speech seek to penalize people for holding these views, usually in

the form of imprisonment or a fine. While I find hate speech to be wrong and I vehemently

disagree with these views, these hate speech laws are a major violation of the freedom of speech.

As I said earlier, no government should punish someone merely for expressing their views.

Now that being said, there are some basic universal exceptions to free speech. Speech

that incites imminent lawless action is one example. Shouting Fire! in a crowded theater is the

most common example. Inciting terrorism would be another. But make no mistake, yes national

security and public safety can supersede freedom of speech if theres a legitimate threat, but

peoples feelings do not. Someone shouldnt be prosecuted because they said something that

someone else found to be offensive.

I believe that we as people have the right to express our views, and that we also have the

right to criticize, scrutinize, and satirize those views we dont agree with. I believe this right is
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key to having a free and open society. I believe we must defend this right from those who seek to

control what we say and think. I believe in the right to free speech, true free speech.