The Freedoms That Make Us Great!
The Freedom of Speech
Vanity Fair columnist, author, and world-famous contrarian, Christopher Hitchens writes about the freedom of speech in the third of a four part series on our freedoms. His opinion is a simple one. “The right of others to free expression is part of my own. If someone’s voice is silenced, then I am deprived of the right to hear or read. Moreover, I have never met nor heard anybody I would trust with the job of deciding in advance what it might be permissible for me or anyone else to say or read or write. That freedom of expression consists of being able to tell people what they may not wish to hear, and that it must extend, above all, to those who think differently, is , to me, self-evident.”
This seems to suggest that however contrary to our own beliefs and however contrary to the good manners demanded by democracy and pluralism, there is much to be gained by not only allowing but promoting the presentation of alternate views and different opinions. We don’t learn very much from those who agree with us. That’s just preaching to the choir. We learn from open-minded and thoughtful consideration of different points of view even when they are expressed in ways contrary to good manners. This is a principle all bloggers should observe in the interests of freedom of speech and of broadening our understanding of difficult problems.
2 comments:
Have you read her blog topic (2 of them) about the substitute teacher who was teaching in Az predominatly comprised of Hispanic students? He claimed that the class was unruly with these Hispanic students expressing anti-white American sentiments and parroting the "stolen land" BS? A congress woman read his account of this incident in congress.
Dee immediately went balistic because she claimed it was smearing all Hispanics and that the incident was all a lie anyway. Well whether it was or wasn't isn't the issue. She smears white, conservative Americans everyday in her blog and yet she has the gall to complain about this one incident about Hispanics? She tops her own hypocricies everyday, doesn't she. I won't you blog about this here. Thanks, Ultima.
She certainly opposes free speech in her blog unless you agree with her views unless she wants to hold you up as an example of racism or some other stupid, biased label she wants to put on you all the while hurling insults at you.
Yet she claims her blog is a place to discuss the issue of illegal immigration with civility between the pro's and the anti's. What a joke that is!
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