Freedom of speech is precious to us all whatever your age, says ARCH HADES
AGAINST a backdrop of toppling statues, online shaming and social media-provoked sackings, 150 or so prominent writers and academics this week felt the need to write an open letter to Harper's Magazine defending the right to free speech and condemning a growing "intolerance of opposing views". J K Rowling, whose comments on transgender rights have seen her shunned by many fans of her Harry Potter books, was among them.
Extinction Rebellion demonstrate on the roof of Bristol City Hall
I thoroughly enjoyed the letter but, listening to a followup radio interview with one, I was surprised they floated an idea that there is perhaps a generational difference in attitude towards freedom of speech. As a millennial in my 20s, I fully support and will always defend the universal right to freedom of expression. I would add that, though online shaming is a modern phenomenon, millennials did not invent so-called "cancel culture" - the boycotting of someone (usually a celebrity) for expressing an opinion that may dissent from a "norm".
Astronomer Giordano Bruno, a far-sighted free-thinker, had the audacity to suggest that religions and philosophies should coexist in tolerance and mutual understanding back in 1600. He was burned at the stake for expressing his views.
Humans have a long history of intolerance, but shutting down debate will only push people to express themselves elsewhere with calcified beliefs. To end ignorance and prejudice, we should engage in civil, informed debate and examine if a belief or decision was based on uncorrupted logic and reason. If it wasn't, we should replace it with a decision that was. Follow reason, follow facts. Everybody makes mistakes.
The real danger is becoming so enamoured with your own perspective that you ignore evidence that contradicts it. To make progress as a society we need to acknowledge our errors and change our ways and freedom of speech is essential to this progress.
The other essential component is the elimination of the fragile ego that tempts us to call for suppression of voices we don't like hearing.
We know, sadly, that people will go to great lengths to avoid evidence that would force them to revise their opinions, as admitting they were wrong can damage their self-worth.
It does not follow that people are particularly thoughtful about forming these initial opinions. There are unacceptable views and my generation is not the first to call them out.
Extremists have always been keen to weaponise public discourse for political gain that dehumanises any "other". This is where "hate speech" differentiates itself from speech you simply hated. To quote the UN Secretary General António Guterres "addressing hate speech does not mean limiting or prohibiting freedom of speech. It means keeping hate speech from escalating into something more dangerous, particularly incitement to discrimination, hostility and violence, which is prohibited under international law".
So, as battle lines are drawn over free speech, I would like to see us all be more civil. It's too easy to be disrespectful online behind an anonymous screen, but you are responsible for what you say and write.
If you do come across an opinion that offends you, first, deal with your emotions and then (if you must) respond with reasoned words. Be better than them, or at least don't add fuel to the fire. Do not re-tweet these attention-seekers, do not vote for them. Second, it should be normal to say "I do not know enough about this to have an opinion" and then to research the topic in private.
In a democracy we are expected to have opinions on a range of political issues, so we offer them to avoid saying "I don't know." But most of us know very little about a lot.
Third, it should be normal to change your opinion after learning new facts that contradict your original view.
In the internet age of intense partisanship, it's difficult not to indulge in confirmation bias - looking for information that confirms your beliefs and to ignore what challenges them.
It's OK to be wrong. It's good to learn new facts. I urge everyone to be more open-minded. Above all, to progress as a society, it should never be more important to be popular than to be right. The truth may not be obvious immediately. That's why all kinds of voices must be heard, even if they are unpleasant. They could be the ones we need to hear, or the truth. Freedom of expression cannot be selective, but be universal.
A POEM BY ARCH HADES
Friends of Voltaire
I think the time has come to be a bit more honest
About how fragile egos are stifling our progress
No matter what, we’re determined to believe
We’re so difficult to teach, so easy to deceive
Each of us upholds, of ourselves, our own ideal
Of someone ‘smart, decent and earnest’ as quite real
We’ll go the extra mile, to protect our virtuous image
Before ourselves and others, basking in our visage
Too often, we’re too fragile to admit we might be wrong
Digging in our heels, becoming more headstrong
But everybody makes mistakes, the real danger is adoring
Our view, while facts that contradict it, we’re ignoring
To make progress, we must first accept our errors
Concede and change our ways to ways much better
Or we’ll end up producing, a sad, corrupted world,
Where facts don’t sway opinions and logic gets ignored
We often shield, ourselves from our own bias
Hiding it in language, we believe to be quite pious
Avoiding information, that would force us to confront
Our moral ambiguities, at times a touch corrupt
Instead we look for evidence, that must mean we must be right
Each scrap we find, we overweigh, sustaining our insight
Careful what you consume, as confirmation bias
Is a foul, addictive poison, that slowly, us all blinds
The cruelty of delusion, one thinks they are omniscient
Shouting ever louder, with insight insufficient
I think the time has come, to put our pride aside
Yield, learn to disagree, and set the record right
It should be seen as normal, to not have an opinion,
On a subject you don’t count, as part of your dominion
It should be seen as normal, to change your mind on something,
When learning some new facts, that may in fact, surprise you
Why do we expect, when we hear things we don’t like,
For them to be suppressed, scrubbed clean or purified?
I may dislike what you say, but I’ll defend your right to say it
No matter what, I will uphold, your freedom to express it
As far as I’m concerned, to our unsound ideas
Exposure, scrutiny, amendment – this antidote will free us
Follow reason, follow facts, and please always remember
Amendments, no matter what, can always be amended
But some people expect censorship, and often prosecution
Yet shutting down debate, is not a sound solution
So long as they’re just words, it’s still a contribution
However ill-informed, contradiction’s not persecution
Do not let the extremists, weaponize our discourse
Do not let them divide us, fomenting hate, their resource
Do not let bigotry and loathing, rise at every turning
Hate can be dispelled with an open mind and learning
The difference between ‘hate speech’, and speech you simply hated
Addressing ‘hate speech’ means keeping it from escalating
Into an incitement of hostility and discrimination,
Illegal actions such as violence and other altercations
But even if we stay, within the legal limits
Too many have grown cozy, in their anonymous image,
Being grossly disrespectful, without any consequences
Relishing in causing, waves of mass offences
You are responsible, for what you say and write
If you’re claiming facts, give evidence you cite
If you’re slinging slander, do not be alarmed
If legal action comes from those you may have harmed
But if you’re just expressing, whatever’s your opinion
Say, a critique of the government of your dominion
I defend your right to do so, your freedom, I implore,
Censorship’s the first step towards nineteen-eighty-four