One of the blessings we as United States citizens have is our First Amendment right to free speech. The ability to express opinions openly to others is an opportunity many countries do not have, and quite possibly, may never be able to utilize.
Because we have such powerful freedom in our hands, it is amazing to me that people do not use it more often. Whether it is for fear of stepping on someone's toes or just not having the courage to say it, I think that it is a freedom we as Americans need to be more aware of and willing to use and understand.
One of my favorite quotes happens to pertain to free speech and how it affects others. "I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it" is a quote that has been attributed to Voltaire but was actually written in a biography called "The Friends of Voltaire" by Evelyn Beatrice Hall. She wrote the line to sum up the attitude of Voltaire and his philosophy, and I believe it is something we all need to remember when taking advantage of our First Amendment rights.
With so many different ethnicities, religions, beliefs, philosophies, backgrounds and whatever else may sway our opinions, it is important to remember to be tolerant of them. We all may have a slightly different way of looking at things, and I think it's important to keep that in mind when talking about something that could be controversial.
As you can see from history, words can have an amazing influence over people. Saying something with the intention of just being hurtful can be, quite honestly, a waste of time, unfair and quite frankly, pointless.
In going off of that point, a thing to remember with free speech is that just because it is a right we have at our finger tips, it is not a license to be spiteful or say whatever we feel. There are things that free speech doesn't protect, for example, shouting, "Fire!" in a crowded theater or mall or "Shark!" at a crowded beach when there isn't a fire in the theater or a shark at the beach.
Other forms of speech that are not protected are libel, defamation and even fighting words. These are just a few other forms that the First Amendment does not cover. In my opinion, free speech is something to be used to express your opinion or help others understand it, not to cause more problems than there already are today.
I think it's also important to remember we are one of very few countries that have and support the use of free speech. There are so many places around the world where people are jailed because they chose to speak freely when their country does not accept it. North Korea ranks as one of the most censored countries in the world. According to the Committee to Protect Journalists, it is a country that does not allow independent journalism, and all of the TV and radio channels are "locked to government-specified frequencies".
Other countries that might sound familiar as far as heavy censorship include Syria, Burma, Libya and Cuba, just to name a few. It is in countries such as these where people are thrown in jail for having beliefs that differ from those of the government of the majority. Can you imagine being thrown in jail for an extensive period of time just because you have a difference of opinion with someone?
Free speech is a right, but at the same time it is at our disposal as a blessing and a curse. The point of it is to promote the flow of ideas from one person to another, from one group to another. It is meant to not only hold people accountable for what they say and support but to open up a way for those individuals to express themselves in an educated manner to help others understand where they are coming from.
Without free speech, it is possible to say that my role here at The Rotunda would be pointless and writing columns or movie reviews or even the news would be meaningless. I would even venture to say the truth would be harder to come by without free speech, if not impossible.
Despite all of this freedom, however, I would encourage people to take it with a grain of salt. We have a lot of power readily available with the use of Facebook, Twitter and other modes to get our point out there, but I would just remember where other people are coming from. Remember that other people have opinions too, and just because they are not the same as yours, it doesn't mean they're wrong or should be attacked for them. They should be understood and accounted for. You don't have to agree, but you have to at least see the other side of the picture.
