Freedom of Speech (By: Carys)

   Can you imagine what the world looked like in ancient and modern days? To answer this question, let’s talk about ancient days first. Last time, the technology was not advanced at that moment. This means that we had neither gadgets nor machines to conduct activities. Without them, the only mechanism to do so was to rely on humans’ work. It was very time-consuming and tiresome. The worst part was the world had suffered with many malicious obstacles like the merciless war, slavery, and poverty before. Men and women were unequal. On the other hand, in modern days, most of the countries had already attained independence and become harmonious. We can carry out activities that we want. Men and women in society are equal. Many devices and machines are invented. We can even go overseas too. No more slavery and poverty in this tremendous world.

  What does freedom of speech mean? It says that individuals have the power and freedom to express, articulate their opinion or ideas without censorship, restraint, retaliation, or legal penalty, sanction. A lot of territories have constitutional laws to defend their own citizens if they want to provide ideas and speech freely about their own government. On behalf of speech rights, democracy, a governmental system which political power is bestowed to the people, became part of it. Here is the comparison and history of the freedom of speech from ancient times until now-------------The Greece term, “parrhesia,” meant to speak candidly.

  Freedom of speech gives many importances to people. What are they? To start with, it leads to accountability. In current days, we can see that elections are organized for people to vote for their best and desirable leaders and politicians to guide them efficiently, accountably and lead to a better, peaceful, safe, and futuristic world. They should understand the performance of the political party to determine the power and the fulfilment of the elections. Media outlets and civil society organizations are responsible for contributing to the public’s discernment and the effectiveness of the governmental system by reporting on the society’s most emphasized issue, but they must be truthful if they are mentioning the information that is nearly crucial and sensitive to the state, as it makes the citizens feel safe to vocalize. This also shows that freedom of speech aids in combating for truth. Therefore, power abuse among people is obstructed in the long run.

  Besides that, rights of speech encourage active enrolment of people to shape policies democratically. It is a good point to say that public discourses like elections and referendums prove them but only come in certain years. Citizens can assemble freely but must follow their countries’ own laws. They can create informed opinions and express political decisions without the apprehension of censorship and reprisal. If there is a mistake of the government, they have the right to protest and give undesirable comments. Additionally, freedom of speech promotes liberty, human dignity, and equal treatment of citizens regardless of their background. Helpfulness, tolerance, cooperation, and tribute are present among people. It recognizes how rationally the people think and express ideas. Since elections and referendums are open to all citizens in their own countries, they can vote for their most authorized leaders to treat them equally. Additionally, freedom of speech is vital for social change and innovation. It permits individuals to challenge the status quo and advocate for social change, no matter how good or bad it is. With it, creativity and innovation are enhanced as people can provide new opinions to be debated.

  To finalize, freedom of speech gives a lot of pros to people worldwide. Thus, we, as responsible citizens, should maintain and safeguard freedom of speech productively but ought to be concerned about the constitutional laws needed.