Freedom is of Speech, Not Hatred

Freedom is not a careless talk, but an expression.

Rules Of Media

N-Vogue

Freedom of speech is a regulatory mess. It condemns hatred and racial point of views, but instead we abuse this point and create a more destructive force all-together. Freedom of speech creates the opportune moment for all of us to have this right. but to use it for expression of speech for your own thoughts is considered an integral part of one’s right. Everything should be used with the idea of promoting positivism and not hatred entirely.
In the past years, speech was used to promote their own thoughts and ideas, that should help the people listening and influence them into the movement that ran in that period specifically. The examples of Martin Luther King Jr., Nelson Mandela are some of the examples. They promoted the idea of freedom through their speeches and they fought for a cause. What they did then is for their independence and freedom.

Coming to the 21st century, we have yet again successfully abused this power entirely, creating self-destructive people and promoting the idea of freedom of speech, but all for the wrong reasons. We have the idea that freedom is giving hateful comments, judgments, promoting racism, passing unrealistic comments.

I am against freedom of speech, but only if the people stop with the hate and start with the positive in life.

It is a right for everyone, but instead is abused.

Freedom of speech: a natural right?

“Nothing is divine, but what is agreeable to reason.”- Immanuel Kant, a central figure of 18th century Enlightenment

Thanks to democracy, the idea of free speech came about as civil liberties and social welfare became the ground philosophy of western civilization. As democracy spread to the rest of the world, the idea of speech spread with it. Over time, the idea became synonymous with human rights and people started thinking of it as a natural right. Now this idea has extended to social media.

So before people start championing and encouraging offensive opinion in the name of free speech. It is important to realize that free speech is a very recent idea and in fact, not a natural right.

I consider freedom of speech as a powerful weapon, that can be misused to fulfill personal agendas.

”Social media is the new public sphere.”
The benefits, as well as the risks of social media, mean that our words, and our worlds, are more deeply scrutinized. Now, we are easier to access and more open to interpretation. When interacting with an individual online we are devoid of visual cues, our tone is difficult to understand, our intent sometimes impossible to decipher. We resort to emojis and declarations like “Just kidding” or “Don’t be mad” to describe what might otherwise be obvious.
In essence, we have become both scared, and scarred.

With all of the benefits of communicating and sharing our lives via visual mediums, instant messages, real time video, and status updates, another perhaps less obvious threat has presented itself: that of self-censorship.

 

We have come to fear how our words, opinions, and beliefs may negatively affect our lives if they are misinterpreted or considered ‘unpopular’ by the masses. Whether a joke is misconstrued or a political position deemed controversial, we have seen the negative effects this sharing can have on an individual’s life and we’ve become frightened to share.

We’ve begun to eliminate the most powerful thing about sharing platforms. We have stopped using them for meaningful social debate because we don’t want to risk our livelihoods on what we believe in. Many of us have become either weak or bipolar; strong and boisterous when our passions are ignited about the meaningless, or weak – perhaps even silent – when it comes to our deeper, more meaningful convictions. If our opinion is that which is against the popular opinion, we choose to keep it to our self to avoid the wrath of keyboard warriors, not to mention the harassment that comes with it. That not only distorts representation of public opinion on the internet but also encourages mob mentality on the internet as people with unpopular opinion are snubbed.

A very recent and unfortunate example of both freedom of expression being a weapon and mob mentality is the murder of Mashal Khan in Mardan. Trying to introduce freedom of expression in a country that is built on conformity, convention and intolerance does not seem like a good idea. In the words of Mashal’s father:

“Freedom of speech is banned… they cut peoples tongues“

Hence, I believe- that we have long way to go before we can truly champion for freedom of expression. We need to at first teach people how to tolerate each other, then respect each other and not to mention, educate about the merits of freedom of speech and how it impacts other people before we start to exercise it.

 

Freedom

“I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it.”-Evelyn Beatrice Hall

People are afraid of guns and bullets but what they really should be afraid of are the pens. What a few bullets could do, a few lines of ink could do it better. A bullet might take a life but a pen will instill an idea. A piece of paper is the reason behind a war or a truce, destruction or harmony, good or evil.

Freedom of Speech has both sides to it. Some may say that freedom of speech is actually all positive but in fact its not. We can say “Hate Speech” has evolved from Freedom of Speech. Racism has been present since the dawn of mankind, hate speech has increased due to the technology advancements, access to internet has led millions voicing their opinion online. However, where there has been hate speech there has always been others condemning  it.

The fast paced technology has led to an increase in awareness of social causes through multiple mediums available. Now news can be spread throughout millions of people simply through something as small as a mobile phone. Wrong or right is left for people to judge. This Freedom of speech/ expression on these mediums have led to many positive and negative events. However there is no line between “Free Speech” or “Hate Speech”.

“If liberty means anything at all, it means the right to tell people what they do not want to hear. ”-George Orwell

 

 

 

 

 

Freedom of Speech: Puppets or Masters?

 

Freedom of speech is a complex and diverse topic, which might take up a lot of effort to comprehend properly. Freedom of speech is not only expressing yourself and saying whatever comes to mind but being able to speak for yourself and defend yourself when criticized for your words, it is being accountable for your words to the world.

What you say can evoke two reactions in others, positivity towards you or view you in a negative light. It all depends on how you convey whatever you are saying. Freedom of speech also asks for freedom to listen. If one individual expresses him or herself, it is somewhat the duty of the other to listen and not simply ignore. Freedom teaches patience, respect, understanding, it does not allow us grant us the freedom to simply speak and then not give anything back in return.

Freedom of speech has opened doors for many. It has allowed women to speak on women empowerment, feminism whereas it has given men a chance to express themselves as well through campaigns such as “Boys don’t Cry” This campaign was launched by VogueIndia, featuring Madhuri Dixit. It was aired on Youtube first then shared on Facebook and other social media platforms. It gave people an insight into how they should raise their sons to express their feelings and not signal them out for doing so. It also focused on how boys should be taught from an early age to be respectful towards women and not demean them. The idea behind this social media campaign was to empower men and women, not just in India but in the subcontinent as a whole. Moving on, freedom of speech has indeed made the world a modern one, with at least some values, morals and ethics if not something which is possessed by everyone. There is change and it is towards a better world. Freedom of speech has allowed people to use social media to take a step forward towards tolerance of one another and make people understand that everyone is different and it does not make them any less human than one’s self.

Possessing freedom of speech is a responsibility; it is not simply a right. It gives us the power to say whatever we want but with that authority comes consequences. Surely this freedom is costly and does not allow us to abuse, discriminate to belittle anyone. It merely allows us to talk about ourselves but often one takes advantage of this and that is where the concept goes south. That is where the freedom gets snatched away from everyone. Freedom of speech does not mean freedom from judgment, criticism, manipulation, or even disagreement leading to arguments.

Freedom of speech can often be hate speech if abused and many do so without any hesitation. There is no limitation to what one can say and the human mind does not know when to stop sometimes thus offending many around him or her. Mark Twain has commented on freedom of speech saying, “none but the dead have freedom of speech” and he is absolutely right. Every pupil is constraint through speech whether in a manner of speaking or using social media and the only people who do not have any limitations are the dead. Even the most powerful men in the world, be it the richest, presidents, owners of oil, kings of Saudi Arabia all are criticized and judged by the world when they abuse their right.

It is important to understand the concept of a balance between both sides of freedom of speech. As part of an educated lot, one should be knowledgeable of the consequences of what one says in a world full of criticizers and should know when to draw the line. Unfortunately, nothing is cost-free.

 

Is freedom of speech a beam of light or a realm of darkness?

Freedom is a beautiful phenomena when it comes to life and human nature but at the same time it can be  a weapon of mass destruction if used or taken in wrong context.

Speech is a way to express yourself and if given a little amount of freedom to it, you can put forth something according to your self intrests without external interference. There is this famous saying that “actions speak louder then words” and its very true as when you are free to speak you are free to act. Your speech tells alot about you as a person and if you support freedom for yourself then you should also be comfortable with freedom of others. The rights you desrve as a human should be equal to as of your other fellow beings.

Freedom in speech dosen’t means that you can insult or humiliate someone openly as thats not ethical and freedom supports ethics and justice thus this type of freedom is unacceptable. Free speech is one of our most important rights and one of the most misunderstood. One should be careful that their words don’t impact someone negatively as if you cannot say good then you should also restrain from saying out bad.

Freedom in speech can be used to protect intrests of minorities and people who are left behind in this rapidly growing world. You can freely condemn something you don’t like or you think is violating human rights. For instance you can freely raise your voice against the killing of innocent humans and this sadens me to say that people are killing eachother on the name of freedom.

What freedom are you fighting for when you are blind towards the freedom of others.

“Kindness is the language which the deaf can hear and the blind can see…”

Freedom on social media is emerging to be a great change in the system in which the world works as now things go viral before you know it. This can be taken as a great deal as now people can operate beyond their physical boundaries and can shed their influence globally. As the reach is so vast so one should be careful of portraying their right to exercise freedom in speech as people can get offended or agree to your message. I think everyone has their own unique way to express and to think and to ensure balance in this platform government interfernce is mandatory. The government or regulating authorities should ensure that their are laws present and are being acted upon by individuals without affecting peoples’ right to freedom.

“Without free speech no search for truth is possible… no discovery of truth is useful.”

A Medium for War, or Peace?

Freedom of Speech; or a tool for offence?

Living in the 21st century, today, we have created a war which we’re fighting ourselves. These wars and treaties of peace are backed by our beliefs, opinions, anger, mistrust or thinking. We are consistently pushing ourselves to our limits in order to be heard and our voices expressed. While on this path for self expression; have we truly lost ourselves or are you joining hands with those who have similar beliefs and opinions? Let’s begin a debate.

Social Media in Pakistan 

The freedom of the media in Pakistan has been hard-fought and hard-won over the decades and, arguably, the challenges the industry faces today from the state and certain elements of society are comparable to some of the worst crises of the past.

Together, the media must fight off attempts to maim, muzzle and mutilate it. Yet, a strong, credible and honest media must also address the problems within the industry, especially when those problems threaten the core mission of bringing news, information and analysis to the public.

The Social Media has become powerful to the extent that it has become an agent of change; good and bad. Forums like facebook, twitter, instagram, snapchat, and many more, flock together to form seperate groups of thinkers, politicians, amateaurs and people from different walks of life. You name it and there it is on the social media websites.

What is freedom? The liberty and the right to speak out freely. Everyone should have freedom of speech, which applies to social media. But, at what cost? 

The Solution

Hate speech has become one the key reasons why social media has faced many criticism in the context of “Freedom of Speech.” Cases regarding blasphemy are witnessed openly and the offender are unable to be located or held accountable for. Then again, the long chain of command leaves a question mark on the regulation of social media. We cannot deprive our generation by keeping them away from social media, but then again can we expose them to violence and hate speech under the banner of “freedom“?

It’s a one for one game. There are drawbacks and advantages of the social platform. The very solution to this would be personal regulation. Everyone has a right to speak what they wish and those who are the victims of the offender, should regulate themselves in a way which keeps themselves distant. PEMRA can play a huge role in regulating specific pages and sites which give way to hate speech affecting the users; especially those who are in concern.

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Freedom Of Speech

 

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For me Freedom of speech is the freedom of life, that freedom in which you express yourself openly without any limitations or boundaries. It’s the right of every single individual to speak up against the odds, whenever and wherever you feel like. Talking about myself? Yes I don’t feel caged anymore, I have my own self expression and the liberty to share it with people without any restraints. We all should raise our voices and take a stand for whatever wrong is happening around us instead of keeping quite and worrying about the consequences. United we stand, divided we fall. It’s the power that each individual possess through which one can actually work towards the promotion of a free society.

 “Give me the liberty to know, to utter, and to argue freely according to conscience, above all liberties.” 
― John Milton, Areopagitica

(www.images.google.com.pk)

Social media playing the most important role as one can share, connect, convey what there opinion is regarding any aspect. It is a platform which has equal and fair opportunities for all. No doubt many people take advantage and misuse it also but for all those who genuinely want to bring a positive change in the societies they are living, IT IS THE RIGHT TRACK.So social media builds the freedom of connection to challenge the people who are being unfair, may it be the government, may it be politicians, may it be any authority that is dominating you. Taking the example of our own Pakistani in which social media  is an ever growing phenomenon and people are creating awareness through facebook, Twitter etc. Although in 2010 government banned many sites but due to unity of people all their efforts were failed. Our youth is promoting the freedom of speech by exercising it themselves through  debating  publicly and making Pakistan a better place to live.

“I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it.” 
― S.G. Tallentyre, The Friends of Voltaire

Like every picture or story can’t be perfect , similarly there are also many flaws in this as well. When I say flaws, I am also referring to the people as well as the society and system in which we are living. Many of us are taking advantage of the facility provided to us and somewhere we are attacking and hurting many others with our harsh words. There is nothing wrong in being straightforward until and unless that person is crossing the line which these days people are using freedom of speech as a weapon. Their extreme views on sexism and racism are creating a discomfort for others. Also many people are misusing the platform just for bullying others and offend them in every possible way they can. It’s a source of targeting people and victimizing them.

So Freedom of speech has both positive and negative aspects but it depends on us how we use it and  put our words into action .