I remember a quote by Noam Chomsky that stated “Goebbels was in favour of free speech for views he liked. So was Stalin. If you’re really in favour of free speech, then you’re in favour of freedom of speech for precisely the views you despise. Otherwise, you’re not in favour of free speech.”
I was in university when I read it, and it made a big impression on me. There have always been acceptable views but what we are seeing in our society today has to be of concern. Free Speech has become a minefield with censorship laws being enacted for “harmful speech” and “unacceptable views”. I remember being told as a child that “it’s just words, words don’t hurt.” We would recite “Sticks and stones will break my bones but words will never hurt me”. While there was truth to that, it was also a mantra to make me feel better. To work through it. It did hurt, but I got stronger. And I got strong enough to understand that some of those words I took to be an attack, were actually said in kindness. Were helpful. Sometimes they bothered me because there was a truth I had missed, something deeper that I was avoiding. Being uncomfortable led me to discover something deeper. Sometimes this insight was personal, sometimes it was beneficial for greater understanding. It was a gift.
A dear friend of mine was caught in a situation where a private conversation was recorded without her knowledge and this conversation was released to the media. This compassionate person has since been the target of hateful comments, accused of being a racist and has had many other accusations levelled at her because she spoke her private thoughts and asked questions about Indigenous issues. Many have focused on her use of a term considered to be a slander towards the indigenous. As an immigrant to Canada early in the millennium, she was unaware of the negative connotations of the word. It had fallen out of favour and subsequent use in Canada long before she arrived. English is her 3rd language and for an immigrant maneuvering through the minefield of “acceptable speech”, you have to think speech is dangerous. Especially when private thoughts were recorded and unethically broadcast in a gotcha moment.
We have to find a way to talk again, to allow people to feel safe to speak thoughts and ideas that are outside of our understanding. To feel safe to inquire, to learn and to be able to make mistakes without fearing that any mistakes could destroy any hope for our future. In this climate, how could our country possibly bridge any divisions that are present? We need to realize that we can still communicate when we feel uncomfortable. I remember a teacher who told me that feeling uncomfortable was the truest sign that I was growing, and that true growth is not comfortable. Maybe our society needs to be uncomfortable. Maybe to bridge this divide, we will need to realize that it’s not going to be kumbaya.
If we do not support free speech for the speech we don’t like, we don’t support free speech at all. Like Goebbels and Stalin. Free speech is the linchpin of our democracy and it is worth defending.
W. Dexter
