It seems to me that most people today have a very strange understanding of what "Freedom of Speech" actually is. Twitter is about to shut down "far-Right" accounts (it's a haven of pure negativity now, it will just become a left-wing haven of negativity.) Young (and quite a good many old) communists and socialists think "freedom of speech" is their right to shout down and silence anyone whom they choose to vent their anger upon. They couldn't be further from the truth. Free speech demands a very personal price from all who would claim to use it.
It's much less about your right to speak than it is your opponent's right to speak.
Yep, it's about you speaking your piece, AND then allowing the other person to speak theirs.
No matter how offensive, bigoted, ignorant, etc., you feel the other person's opinion is.
No matter how convinced you are of your own correctness.
Free speech is by its very nature the right of others to voice a different opinion than yours.
But free speech is a right that can only be employed and enjoyed by mature people.
If you feel the need to shout down someone's right to speech, then you're not mature enough to appreciate and utilize true free speech.
If you feel the need to pressure a media outlet to restrict someone's freedom of speech, then you're not mature enough to practice any speech in the public forum.
If you feel the need to resort to violence and lawlessness over someone attempting to speak freely, then you're not mature enough to participate in public discussion.
You don't have to agree with them. You don't even have to listen to them (seriously, whatever happened simply to ignoring offensive things?)
But, you do have to let them speak. That's just adolescent-level maturity in public discourse.
If you think you're truly mature, you might want to listen, then try to engage respectfully. Spiritual maturity is all about equality between people, and it begins with reaching out from your own perspective to try to understand others. That's the true courage of maturity.
Of course, you're perfectly free to shout down anything and everything that doesn't fit exactly into your worldview.
Just don't expect me to take your immaturity very seriously.
It's much less about your right to speak than it is your opponent's right to speak.
Yep, it's about you speaking your piece, AND then allowing the other person to speak theirs.
No matter how offensive, bigoted, ignorant, etc., you feel the other person's opinion is.
No matter how convinced you are of your own correctness.
Free speech is by its very nature the right of others to voice a different opinion than yours.
But free speech is a right that can only be employed and enjoyed by mature people.
If you feel the need to shout down someone's right to speech, then you're not mature enough to appreciate and utilize true free speech.
If you feel the need to pressure a media outlet to restrict someone's freedom of speech, then you're not mature enough to practice any speech in the public forum.
If you feel the need to resort to violence and lawlessness over someone attempting to speak freely, then you're not mature enough to participate in public discussion.
You don't have to agree with them. You don't even have to listen to them (seriously, whatever happened simply to ignoring offensive things?)
But, you do have to let them speak. That's just adolescent-level maturity in public discourse.
If you think you're truly mature, you might want to listen, then try to engage respectfully. Spiritual maturity is all about equality between people, and it begins with reaching out from your own perspective to try to understand others. That's the true courage of maturity.
Of course, you're perfectly free to shout down anything and everything that doesn't fit exactly into your worldview.
Just don't expect me to take your immaturity very seriously.
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