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November 13, 2005
Freedom to Speak
While leafing through the first few chapters of We the Media, I found Gillmor's perception of the U.S.'s First Amendment interesting: "...freedom of speech is the most fundamental part of a free society" (1).
Granted, one may wonder- Sure...Wouldn't everyone think this way? However, this concept isn't just a fundamental part of our world but others as well.
Prior to reading Gillmor's text, I completed Rushdie's Haroun and the Sea of Stories. Interestingly, within this fantastical piece, the author dives into the unlimitedness that freedom possesses:
...the old General seemed perfectly happy to listen to these tirades of insults and insubordination without battling an eyelid. In fact, it looked to Haroun as if the General was on many occasions actually provoking such disputes, and then joining in with enthusiastic glee, sometimes taking one side, and at other times (just for fun) expressing the opposite point of view,
'What an army!' Haroun mused. 'If any solider behaved like this on Earth, they'd be court-martialled quick as thinking.'
'But but but what is the point of giving persons Freedom of Speech,' declaimed Butt the Hoopoe, 'if you then say they must not utilize same? And is not the Power of Speech the greatest Power of all? Then surely it must be exercised to the full?' (119)
Without our ability to express emotions or share events, we limit ourselves not only as an individual but as a society also- Fear must not prevail over truth. As the author notes later on in Chapter 2, the Internet provided the world with a second outlet against the ever-growing broadcasting media. Blogs allow this process to continue in an interactive forum, which helps exercise our right to speak.
Just as the freedoms of our forefathers lead to the country's emancipation of ideas different from England, so too can our freedoms potentially lead us towards a greater way of thinking.
Posted by BethanyHutira at November 13, 2005 07:40 PM