pexels
Freedom of speech is a right, infact a fundamental human right and it is even acknowledged by the United Nations.
This right gives one the freedom to express his opinion, feelings and ideas in whatever way they wish, whether vocally or through writing or even through arts, without restraints, censorship or fear of being witch-hunted or sanctioned by the government.
Most Nations of the world especially democratic nations endorses this rights while some others are under pressure to do same
This right of expression has caused the growth and development of nations of the world, and it has also been a source of discomfort, violence, war and disunity amongst peoples of the world too
Because of the fact that people can and have ceased these rights to propagate hatred, incite violence and create division amongst each other, governments of the world deemed it fit to limit such rights and as such freedom of speech is not absolute anywhere in the world.
These limits and boundaries dictate what one can legally say or cannot say. The boundaries are to prevent any form of breach of law and other human rights. They are meant to protect the peace and unity of the state and prevent conflict.
These limitation are important to curb cases of libelling, copyright violations, hate speeches, incitements, slander, wars caused hate speech, obscenity , rights to privacy violation etc.
The goal of freedom of speech is to allow people express themselves freely without fear and not to hurt and violate the rights of others or incite violence.
I consider the limitation/ regulation of our freedom of speech a wonderful development as freedom of speech can be destructive as much as it can cause growth and development.
For a volatile country like mine (Nigeria) which is at the brink of collapse. It is necessary to censor and manage informations to be put out.
Freedom of speech has many advantages and Disadvantages, here are a few;
designed with canva
freedom of speech prevents people in power from running the government with bias and selfishness. It prevents them from making policies that would favour their interest because individuals now have the rights to criticize them.
freedom of speech prevents the government from compelling an individual to speak as they please. it gives one the right and opportunity to defend and correct any false information that is spread about them.
It encourages free exchange of information and prevents the suppression of truths
Freedom of speech causes an exposure of misdeeds and unlawful activities
It makes a society to advance in knowledge due to the fact that people are free to air their opinions and even ask questions.
pexels
- Freedom of speech allows us to challenge bad ideas and ideology. It causes a change in the narrative and helps us defeat hate. This can be done by exposing the ills in the current ideology, proposing a more reasonable idea and supporting your new ideas with facts and reasons.
- Freedom of speech increases our capacity and ability to tolerate differing and uncomfortable opinions and ideas. It helps us to be more accommodating to other opinions.
designed with canva
Freedom of speech can cause the spread of false information and ideas.
It can incite violence and eventually lead to war.
Freedom of speech sometimes hampers development ; this occur as a result of everyone being able to speak their minds concerning a project or policy. Some people who are against the government would cease any opportunity to lambast the government and cause instability and lack of trust in the government. they frustrate government efforts to bring development to the nation.
- freedom of speech promotes mental discomfort as people use derogatory statements against others. It creates an environment were people are forced to endure verbal abuses even to the detriment of their mental health.
pexelsFreedom of speech causes division and disunity ; When people have different, differing and conflicting opinions and ideology, there is bound to be disunity and people split into factions. People now find it hard to get along or live with other people with different opinions and ideology.
It promotes mob mentality as people tend to go against people that are labelled bad by people they believe.
Freedom of speech makes it difficult for people to reach a compromise with other people . When people consistently propagate their ideology, it is always difficult for them to compromise their stance for the good of everyone. They now believe they should and would get what they want.
My final Thoughts on freedom of speech
The aim of freedom of speech is to allow people to express their opinions and ideas so as to create a people endorsed and controlled government/society. It is not aimed at causing pains, violence and conflicts.
As seen above, there are a number of advantages and disadvantages of freedom of speech and as such I think it's just wise that governments of the world limits freedom of speech. This is for the general good of the society because giving people total freedom of speech increases the risk for harm, so I think their should be rules and regulations guiding what can and cannot be said
pexels
If the public are allowed to dictate what speech is good or bad, it would create room for abuses and conflicts to occur.
Freedom of speech is good and can be bad also. It's a two edged sword so it should be controlled with the greater good of the society in mind.
Thanks for stopping by, I hope you found this interesting. I would really love to hear what you think about this.