freedom of speech ( Archived) (24)

According to me:

I think we're entitled to freedom of speech on a personal level as long as we accept the responsibility that goes with it. If I make a statement about someone, can I back it up? Am I prepared to fight my corner and even if it's true, is the battle worth fighting? I have to be prepared to go on to the end, however long that takes.

Also, we all know examples down the years where individuals had to swim against the tide of public opinion and speak their mind. In the 60s it would have been Martin Luther King and the rights of the black community. In the 70s and 80s, it would have been the gay community. As society changes, those who lead the way stand alone at times till the rest of us catch up,

Then there are the others who use freedom of speach to stir hatred only too often in the name of religeon. I'm not really sure what to do about them. Is it better to let them voice their evil so we know who they are? Or do we suppress them and drive them underground into the shaddows and spend our lives looking over our shoulders for them to come.

One problem I do see,in the U.S. is that if you stand up against the government on sensitive issues, you can be labeled as Un-American and if this pervades into the media, then the information we all receive becomes filtered. Can we have free thought and free speech when we don't have all the facts? That's for another day I suppose.