Our Thoughts on Freedom of Speech!
“I am offended” and “You can’t say that as it offends my feelings.” “We must silence them.”
We hear these statements often and out of them grows an ever-growing censorship both in self and in public. Is this healthy? Voltaire once wrote that, “I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death, your right to say it.” In other words, democracy and freedom are not based on agreement of opinion, but democracy is based upon the consensus of each person being able to hold and express their own opinions.
Let us recall the warning from Henry Gates Jr. who said, “Censorship is to art as lynching is to justice.” Thereby, instead of this censorship, let us remember that God told Moses at Sinai, “You heard the sound of words, but saw no image; there was only a voice.” (Deuteronomy 4:12) In other words, it is hearing the words and listening to the voice which is central to belief. If this is true with God, how much more so should we listen to all voices (even those we disagree with) around us.
In the end, we must remember that life is not an echo chamber and we shouldn’t try and create one either. This is something that needs to be reinforced in our universities and public forums ASAP, thereby ensuring that democracy for generations to come continues to be represented by freedom of thought and expression. Currently, we are at the tipping point, whereby this echo chamber is becoming the dogma and demanded, and it is our belief that we must go back to the biblical principles that paved the path for both our freedom of beliefs and our ability to express those beliefs at the same time.