"What point is there in free speech if one is only allowed to say something uncontroversial or what everyone else already appears to think? That’s not free speech; that’s repetition. And repetition doesn’t change people’s opinions nor educate. Why not stick to what you thought at sixteen years old and never change your mind? But in order to be allowed to question your established ideas, to educate yourself, you have to be presented with uncomfortable information in an uncomforting way—few people relish being told they’re wrong and that they have been wrong for years. I say “allowed” because that is at the core of free speech. It is often assumed that the true victim of censorship is the person engaged in speaking. They are victims, but so, too, is everyone else. If your thoughts are censored, then I am [unable] to hear them. If my thoughts are censored, you are not allowed to hear my opinions and judge them against your own. As such, censorship makes each person a prisoner of their own thoughts and makes society barren silos."
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Original Language: English
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Sources
David Hutt, "What to do about ‘freedom from speech?’", Radio Free Asia (September 24, 2023)
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Freedom_of_speech
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Freedom of speech
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