The sweet and sour

I am sure that you are a qualified and eligible reader since you have reached my blog. Establishing an association and a connection between you and my second blog is perhaps a troublesome errand. I’ll be discussing the subject on which this site is based upon: Freedom of expression.The task is to present both of the sides.  I’ll attempt to keep this an intriguing experience since your interest matters the most, or isn’t that right?

Humanity sees itself as the predominant living life form among the other breathing species. Truth expressed, and never questioned why. I, in that case, consider our USP the freedom of expression or the privilege to talk unreservedly. Since ancient times, man has attached great importance to his fundamental right of expression. He regarded this right as his proud possession. He defended this right with all his might. If necessary, he even laid down his life to uphold this precious right. History is replete with examples of thousands of men, women, intellectuals, philosophers, artists, writers, politicians, etc, having fought and sacrificed their lives for the sake of this freedom. The very ground you are standing on is a result of such act.

Compact and to the point is what i’m searching for here. Infusing such rights into the human mind and giving the independence to utilize it might have blended effects. We’re all piece of the yin yang idea. A human is a cocktail  of good and bad which projects out specific feelings which lead to distinctive recognitions and perceptions. Activities, then, are acted on the base of such perceptions. Books, insightful articles are maybe the last step that separates appropriate from wrong. The initial step is the human set of principles which is past the idea of any ethnicity or nationality. Liberty begins when the privilege to talk is given. As clarified, it is generally utilized for the advantage of humanity and for an assigned, indicated cause. Be that as it may, at times, this is utilized as a part of the most ghastly and in the most hideous way imaginable. As a shield; just to support the crimes and actions the human race delivers.

Just like you, I understand the deep concept and essentiality of how important it is for an individual to be vocal. My support goes out to such notion. It is highly important that an unjust act be condemned. What many individuals don’t comprehend is that being allowed to voice out your supposition on issues accompany duties. An obligation of picking your words deliberately and ensuring no one gets hurt simultaneously. Being free is being represented by your psyche. Confiding in yourself to settle on the correct decisions and not let your feelings get included, on the grounds that when you begin thinking with your body and not your mind just, inconvenience begins to unfurl. The issue with today’s generation is straightforward. We jump before we look, which shouldn’t be so.

The right to freedom of expression is a valuable right of human race. It is a fruit of democracy. It should be enjoyed, nursed and preserved. However, it should not be allowed to be misused as a license by any person.

Freedom of speech vs. Hate speech

The recent blasphemy incidents and religious riots has again sparked a hot debate over an old but a vital issue ‘Freedom of speech‘. Freedom of speech is a universal right that belongs to everyone, not just to those with whom you agree. That means that even if someone says something that I completely disagree with, I still support his/her right to express his/her views.

Over the last decade we all now the impact increasing popularity of social media websites has made on ones freedom of speech. Simply with a click we can post a status criticizing whatever politician we want to, questioning whatever norm we want to, ridiculing celebrities and utilizing the ‘freedom’ in their own ways. But the question here is how many people actually think the impact their one casual ‘share’ will have on the individual they are targeting? Apart from the fascinating aspect of social media what we are totally missing is how it is making the phrase “humor at the expense of others” more bitter and brutal. One of the victims of this cruel internet sensation was a girl from Lahore who couldn’t resist her emotional excitement for being around the Murree’s snow falling beauty, enough to remain composed before a TV reporter. While one girl just said ‘aspire to inspire’ the other couldn’t know how to express excitement appropriately and just uttered “We are proud of you” only to become a meme content for the social media humorists. 

What many people don’t understand is that being free to voice out your opinion on issues come with responsibilities. A responsibility of choosing your words carefully and making sure nobody gets hurt in the process. Being free is being governed by your mind. Trusting yourself to make the right choices and not let your emotions get involved, because as soon as you start thinking with your body and not your mind only, trouble starts to unfold. The problem with today’s youth is simple. We leap before we look, which shouldn’t be so. We must use the chance we have of been heard, wisely.

Here’s an interesting illustration of hate speech by Mackay:

Just as equality and justice belong to everyone, so too does freedom of speech. But the problem arises because the boundaries between freedom of speech and hateful speech are not always very clearly marked. That’s the area where confusion and contradictions live.

The paradox of Freedom of Speech

The previous posts concerning freedom of speech on this blog have been surrounded mainly over the general phenomenon of freedom of speech. I would however like to focus upon the effects it has and the role it plays in the world of social media. Social media has become a daily part of our lives and we cannot survive without posting almost daily on some social networking website or app. Freedom of speech can be argued for an against and honestly, the amount of freedom one has today thanks to social media could not have been possible several years ago.

Social media has risen many controversial questions on the way people express themselves. A famous quote highlights the fact how today, even the president of a country is not safe from any criticism posed on him/her on social media. One can directly talk to any celebrity or political figure or any person who is famous in any way. This freedom could not have been possible without the existence of social media. This is why social media and its right to provide one with limitless freedom to express themselves is benefiting the lives of many.

However, one can say that this very platform can be threat to the privacy of many and can actually cause emotional harm to some people. Freedom over social media means anyone can say anything you do or don’t do. You are entitled to every kind of feedback whether encouraged or not. It is not your choice! You do not ask for anything, this is something you have to bear if you are a part of social media. Something entirely out of your control. How daunting! Yet we choose to stay the way we are and accept this harsh reality.

We are helpless in a way, yet we are not. It’s a paradoxical phenomenon and an ongoing process which we can’t really do much about. It’s something the world has been revolved around and we are all a part of it. Fortunately or unfortunately.

 

Significance of Free Speech

Free speech refers to when a person is provided with the liberty to speak about anything with freedom and personal will and there is no barrier to what they have to say. It is very much significant on many levels to make a free speech, for instance on individual and personal levels and sometimes the fire goes beyond individuality and reaches out a larger segment.

To define freedom of speech here goes a very simple definition, “it is the power or right to express one’s opinions without censorship, restraint, or legal penalty”.

Many people have also instituted freedom of speech with the ability and patience to hear about something they don’t want to.

For example:
The great writer George Orwell had to say something about freedom of speech and the the art of telling the masses what they don’t want to hear and this picture shows what he said;

Now this statement by George Orwell who himself wrote about oppression of the state and how there was clear absence of rights among the community and how the ordinary people were victims of heavy surveillance by an invisible aura ( a great example can be his book “1984” ) clearly tells that the masses must have the right to express themselves freely but along with that they must be prepared to accept the bad things it would bring along for them too.

So?

So to conclude we can easily say that the masses must be provided with the right to channelize what they have because if not then it would leave them to state of frustration and that could lead to anarchy in the state but there must be a moderate audit of what the people have to say, some key matters must be closely watched because not everyone is a scholar and too much free speech could again likewise lead to a terrible situation for everyone!

 Situation in Pakistan

PEMRA (Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority) is the regulatory body for the media outlets across Pakistan. They are the ones who have to look after that how much space is given to the media and with how much freedom they can express themselves? Now this is the link to the official website of PEMRA:
Regulatory Authority

This website is useful for the general audience so that they can know about the guidelines that how much autonomy does our state in actual provide us with?