FREE SPEECH

Freedom of speech is one of our cherished unalienable rights. We talk about it all the time. We insist upon having it. Or do we really? How do you feel about hate speech.? Hateful expressions are terrible, aren’t they?  The Supreme Court has ruled that even free speech has limitations. For instance, one may not freely advocate criminality, or in Oliver Wendell Holmes’s famous example, “Falsely shout fire in a crowded theater.” Well, not exactly. Most of the time the word “falsely” is omitted from that famous quotation. If we want to know this subject more exactly then we need to understand that speech is like every other concept under the sun, or within God’s great creation in which we endeavor to spend our mortal lives.  In other worlds it embraces the concept that is presented so mightily in the Book of Mormon which is that “There must be an opposition in all things.” For every physical item, every concept, every idea or issue upon the earth there is an equal and opposite use to which it may be placed. That concept is discussed in another post on this blog site. But suffice it to say within the meaning of that basic and natural right that we call free speech we must realize that great good is done through the auspices of freedom of speech. The search for and knowledge of truth itself comes through the proper use of that freedom. The great awakening, the  Renaissance, and Age of Reason sprang from it, or may be properly laid at the doorstep of freedom of speech. Yet great evil also resides within its pages. Hate speech inspires evil acts, lives are ruined, revolts are instituted, and regimes are destroyed.  It is therefore imperative that our knowledge of free speech includes the pearl of wisdom and understanding. 

Lets start with what the Supreme Court decided in Schenck vs United States? Here it is in a nut shell: Speech can be punished if there is a clear and present danger that it will bring about the evil that Congress has a right to prevent. This according to: Carlton F.W. Larson, “Shouting ‘Fire’ in a Theater”: The Life and Times of Constitutional Law’s Most Enduring Analogy, 24 Wm. & Mary Bill Rts. J. 181 (2015), https://scholarship.law.wm.edu/wmborj/
vol24/iss1/6  So the right to freedom of speech is not absolute. In accordance with the same principles under which governments are established by men, speech may be subject to lawful control. Good enough! So why then do we think it to be so important? That’s really the meat of this post.

This 7 minute video of Jordan Peterson speaking on YouTube provides both clarity and reason for the importance of speaking freely. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KMj9wsrPE5U. It is an invaluable aid to our subject. Professor Steven Pinker has published and spoken frequently on the subject of free speech. “The Righteous Mind”, a book by Jonathan Haidt (rhymes with height) deals with the moral foundations that are involved in freedom of speech as it pertains political expressions. He has written and spoken extensively concerning speech in academia and on social media. Professor Haidt views free speech as so important that he frequently references the great John Stuart Mills on the subject. He has published a small book, “All Minus One” which is an illustrated version of Chapter 2 of John Stuart Mills work, “On Liberty”. It deals with the subject of free speech. Mills lays out in this chapter the reason why free speech is so important that it must be protected even if you are the only “one” with an opinion at variance with the “many”, or everyone else. I encourage all who wish to broaden their understanding of the subject to view the material above, ponder it, and pray for the inspiration to understand it.

All of this is necessary to know and understand because of the virulent counter culture that is omnipresent on social media today. Divergent opinion is “cancelled” and its proponents are erased in the name of virtue. When I say, “erased”, I mean deleted or eliminated from nearly every aspect of today’s society. Jobs are lost. Influence is diminished to the point of nonexistence. This negative result from the use of one’s freedom to express oneself is due to the negative aspect of social media today which is yet one more evidence of the moral concept of an “opposition in all things”. I hope you will excuse the use of so many quotation marks but it seems that emphasis on the principle of opposition is necessary for the understanding of the concept of free speech. Speech itself is subject to the principle of opposition and so is our reaction to it. Choice, which is the means by which spiritual, moral, and intellectual growth are  obtained, is present in every iteration of good and evil. This is so important that perhaps the subject of free speech should have started with that concept. I hope that it is firmly established  in the reader’s mind at this point. If not, then please obtain access to and read the reference material presented here until you are confident in expressing it yourself. Professor Haidt likes to quote John Stuart Mills to the effect that “someone who knows little of  his opponent’s argument knows little of his own argument”. Why? Because it is through the back and forth expression of ideas that we acquire the knowledge necessary for a properly informed decision. We do not understand the truth until we know the elements of fact that make it so. 

God knows the truth. He has promised us that we may know it also, and that it will make us free. And it is that truth which we seek through free expression. Ideas must be smelted through the fire of knowledge and understanding that comes from learning and pondering all sides of the situations with which we are involved. This comes with honest inquiry and true intent. We think after the manner in which we speak. So when we limit speech we also limit thought and the truth is the loser. God has said that truth is things as they were, and as they are, and as they will become. And what we say about them is how we learn about them. Knowledge is one of the few things that we can take with us into the next life. That is why Latter-Day Saints are are taught to seek after that which is lovely or of good report and to acquire and read good books of all kinds. When we nurture and broaden our mind we are creating space for the Holy Ghost to testify. I do not separate faith in God from love of the truth. God is love. God is truth. We must be free to speak of both. In fact, that may be why freedom of religion and speech are both mentioned in the very first amendment in the Bill of Rights. These are things that I believe and testify of in the name of Jesus Christ, AMEN!!!