“How far should an individual be allowed to exercise his freedom of speech?”
In our modern state of Singapore, democracy is claimed to be the style of government. However, not all tenets of democracy have been fulfilled. Freedom of speech for example remains a technically impossible thing. In spite of this, an individual should continue to have such a freedom restrained. He would still have other freedoms, such as the liberty to choose soul mates et cetera. As seen in Singapore and worldwide, freedom of speech, when easily abused, is damaging.
And it is very often abused. The recent ugly news of two Chinese Singaporean bloggers hurling racist remarks online is such an example of what happens when such a freedom is compromised. The gains that freedom grants are far overshadowed by those detriments that result from taking it too far. In a country where racial harmony has been the gospel ever since it was established, freedom of speech is especially to be restrained. It is just that easy to influence groups of people into certain negative beliefs, for the pen is mightier than the sword indeed. The government has done a great deal to ensure that freedom of speech is curtailed much of the time. Even the online community is not spared. Just when one thought he was hiding behind a monitor, he would be damned wrong to realise that no one is anonymous online. The government is watching him.
However, too much of limiting, and the individual becomes lifeless. He is no longer a citizen of the country he was born and belongs to, but a factor of economic production in the economy. He would have no social life, and a wife would mean someone to take care of him. Such a bleak world could result from an absolute removal of freedom of speech. It sounds definitely like a communist society. Freedom of speech would be the last right granted to its citizens, even if they are genuinely thought out for the betterment of the nation. Without criticism and a form of self-reflection, the government is likely to remain as it is just because it assumes that it is functioning at its best when there is nothing to tell them that it is just not true. At other times, freedom of speech and press freedom that are closely linked and inseparable may result in not issues of racial harmony but rather severe economic and political repercussions. Take the case of the recent offensive comics that were insensitive to the Muslim community worldwide. Diplomatic relations have been strained and hurt, with Saudi Arabia recalling its ambassador from Denmark, and Libya closing its embassy in Copenhagen. Other countries’ ministers have coined various phrases to emphasize the effects of the comics. Even though comics are to be taken for comic relief and light-hearted entertainment, yet they still caused such an uproar. Indeed, the freedom of speech must thus never be granted to an individual fully. He must, in order to be worthy of it, be conscious that limits may be crossed, but it should never occur. If it does, then his right has the right to be forfeited.
-10:35 PM-
IDIOT.