It was included by Mahatma Gandhi in the constitution of India. Martin Luther King spread the message when he was in jail. According to George Washington, without freedom of speech humans will be equivalent to sheep sent for slaughter. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights confirmed that Freedom of expression is meant for everybody along with online.
Whenever we use free speech to express our views which is slightly difficult or offensive, it is justified or challenged by the same right. It is challenged through open discussions, peaceful protests and debates.
How free is everyone actually?
Are we free totally to express anything and everything? How can you understand when some voices are forcefully silenced around you? Here are two things that requires investigation-
• Do you have a diverse media? Are there any news channels that are available freely which works independently from the government?
• If any law is there that restricts the freedom of speech in the country with the use of blasphemy, national security or some excuses like criminal defamation?
According to the American abolitionist and social reformer Frederick Douglass, “Liberty is meaningless where the right to utter one’s thoughts and opinions has ceased to exist. That, of all rights, is the dread of tyrants. … To suppress free speech is a double wrong. It violates the rights of the hearer as well as those of the speaker.”
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