[Vol.88] The Art of Freedom of Expression.

As I am writing this, millions of thoughts are crossing my mind and I continue to find myself
censoring and filtering everything I actually want to write. Why am I doing this? It’s because I need
to be careful about how I address things because someone can take what I say as inappropriate or
even, offensive. There are multitudinous issues that are being raised nationally and globally, but we
find ourselves covering our own mouths because we want to be politically correct. I, for one, have
noticed that I tend to express myself less and less each day as the number of words and ideologies
that are evaluated as taboo continues to increase exponentially.
 

Naturally, there are two sides to every issue; in this case, the other extreme would be those who
are making full use of their freedom to express. Of course, there is nothing wrong with expressing our opinions. According to Socrates, communication without filters (i.e., mentioning all taboos) is the key to growth and progress. This is where the “art” comes in. How much freedom do we actually have? Or better yet, how much is too much? Those in the opposite end from where I stand use the right to express oneself freely as their chevalier armor to vent out every thought or opinion that comes to their mind. In fact, they argue that the more honest the opinion, the more constructive the opinion is for a certain issue.

But what they need to realize is that, more often than not, what they regard as “constructive” becomes “destructive”. Sure, we all have the right to express our thoughts about people, events, or policies that we like or dislike. Likewise, we have every right to challenge the status quo. However, we need to reflect whether the intention for expressing our opinions is for the sake of betterment. Freedom of speech and expression requires individual as well as collective responsibility as freedom of expression does not mean freedom of consequences. When the intention behind one’s opinion is malicious and focus on harming others, then it will create catastrophic effects.

For example, if we had a horrible experience at a restaurant due to bad service or food, then
we have the right to write a review as a customer to bring it to attention so that the problem can be
solved, and the restaurant can improve its service or food. However, if the review were to vent
one’s anger and wish for the restaurant to go out of business, then the customer’s is abusing one’s
freedom. We are fortunate to have such freedom to voice our opinions; thus, we need to be thankful
for having such a freedom and we should not abuse it. Free speech and expression need to be practiced responsibly. We need to keep in mind that the common enominator for the parties involved in any form ofdebate should be to make things better.