The Price of Free Speech

The Western world was built on several fundamental principals that were found to be lacking in Europe back in the 15th century. Freedom of Religion, freedom of expression and freedom of speech were all freedoms that were not granted to everyone in Europe and, even though they were part of what the founders of the United States and Canada wanted to have here, it wasn't until the mid 20th century that everyone of all races, male or female, had those same freedoms here in North America. Unfortunately, over the last 30 years, our overly sensitive society has been slowly eroding one of the most fundamental freedoms of the Western World: Freedom of Speech.

When that basic freedom was instilled in the American Constitution and later in the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, there were no limitations placed on it. It was a basic right each and every person was given without reservation or limitation on how or when you could use that right. This basic right has slowly been taken away from the vast majority of people over the last 3 decades and I will explain how.

When did it become against the law to say what you think about the Government? In this, my most recent example, we have been seeing student protests in Quebec, the Occupy movements that were all over the world last year, the G20 protests in Toronto from 2 years ago and the hundreds of ongoing Greek Austerity Protests being severely cracked down upon (at times) by local authorities. Many of these protests were generally peaceful in nature but some of them escalated into violent confrontations between people fed up with something they disagreed with that the Government or big business did and were simply following through with their rights to freedom of speech an expression by protesting what they want changed.

So why the confrontational, sometimes violent stand taken by local government and police in trying to stop these people from using their rights? Is it possible that our governments are starting to place limits on our freedoms? The same freedoms that were part of the creation of most of the Western World are now the same ones that are being curtailed at times when the Government feels like it.

It's not just government that is attacking these freedoms. Big business is another culprit in the fight for individual freedom over the last 30 years. Anything you say against the company you work for can be used against you and possibly even cause your dismissal from said company. It used to be almost impossible to actually prove that a person "said" something against their employer but now, with Twitter and Facebook around, both of which are supposed to be personal social media, employers can terminate employees if they catch wind of negative comments posted on staffs' personal accounts.

But that's not the worst of it. There are some companies now that actually demand that new applicants turn over their Facebook Passwords to them during their interviews so that they can be screened by the company. Basically, failure to comply with this violation of your own personal privacy is grounds for them not to hire you as they take it as if you have something to hide. When did it become acceptable to allow a company that is looking for staff, to be so intrusive with some of their hiring policies?

My last example is a bit more on the negative side but still follows with the theme of my blog today. When Miami Marlins manager Ozzie Guillen expressed "admiration" for Fidel Castro, he was essentially demonized by Cuban-Americans (and, to a certain extent, rightfully so), local politicians and, eventually, he was suspended 6 games. He lost 6 games worth of pay for words he said in an article in a different language over the winter that just so happened to be released around the time of the Marlins opening their new ballpark.

Guillen is a hot head who says things off the top of his head without thinking but he is still a man who has the right to say what he thinks. That was all he was doing. It just so happens that he said what he said about Castro while working for a team that has its new ballpark right in the middle of the "Little Havana" section of Miami.


While I 100% disagree with the content of the words spoken, the fact of the matter is that even speech which some would classify as hateful or hurtful is, and SHOULD be allowed to be spoken in a free society without fear from reprisals. But sadly, you can't say anything today without "hurting" or "offending" someone simply by saying what one believes or thinks. Offending someone will always happen when you express an unpopular opinion. It shouldn't matter if the opinion is popular or not for it to be allowed to be spoken.

Each of us has the fundamental right to express ourselves in whichever manner we see fit. It is our part of who we are in the West to be able to say what we feel and express ourselves freely. Some people, unfortunately, have been winning the battle to place limits on our freedoms over the years and it only seems to be getting worse as time goes by because of our small-minded politicians, who only care about keeping their cushy jobs by trying to appeal to as many people as possible instead of standing up for what is right.

The way things are going, we will (if we haven't already) lose all our basic freedoms out of the need to be politically correct. How incredibly sad....