Big believer in freedom of speech, here. The first time I went to London, I made sure to visit Hyde Park Corner, that famous home of the right to free speech. (For those of you culturally deprived sorts in the audience, it is an unassuming part of one of the parks in London where anyone can get up and propound anything without hindrance.) Kind of a disappointment, actually. The few there who did express themselves were disorganized, rambling and obviously repeating the same old same old over and over and over. This was made even more apparent by those who were regular hecklers, so familiar with the various screeds that they could beat the speakers to the punchline of their meager jokes.
But then, free speech was never meant to be limited to the articulate, much less the coherent. And in a day when public discourse seems limited to an exchange of insults like two children fighting in a playground, free speech has become like most things that are free; worth every penny.
I refer not just to those who disagree with my point of view (you worthless rapscallions you), but to those who seem to have lost the ability to disagree without being disagreeable. We have made public debate into a major contest where one side must not only seem more sensible but must obliterate any other point of view. Even worse, when one side loses, that means doubling down on the invective and calumny of the other side. After a sports game, the opposing teams shake hands in a show of respect for one another. After an election, the opposing parties continue to sling mud and act as if their side won.Like two children separated after a fight, threats and insults continue to fly futilely.
Difference does not threaten me, nor should it you. You have the right to say anything, even nasty things about me, no matter how mistaken or misguided you may be. As Voltaire never actually said, I may disagree with what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it.
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