Freedom of speech refers to the right of the individual to express his views about matters of interest to him/her whilst freedom of the press would refer to the freedom of written word in printed form and that BOTH refer to the freedom of THOUGHT and are the outward expressions of our THOUGHTS.
George Orwell in Nineteen Eighty-Four depicts a society where freedom of speech is denied and he argues there as to whether thought is possible without any external stimuli. The long and short of it is that distortion of facts, limiting areas of thought and expression, not only stagnates but destroys the human mind, creativity, potential and retards the development of relationship between man with himself and man with others!!!
Freedom of speech is not the freedom to hurt or harm others. Yet, some in our society who do the latter most insidiously, using others to hurt others be it in the political arena or in society. Personally, I strongly advocate that freedom should stem from a full, creative life which is satisfying for ourselves and can lead to the betterment and growth of society.
The ability to think and to speak are the two abilities that distinguish us from lower life forms. Thus, to me, the denial of these two basic freedoms is a DENIAL OF MAN’S HUMANITY!!! As long as conditions are repressive, thought processes cannot function normally.
A society that muzzles the press and the freedom of opinion may be equated with one that forbids THINKING and in doing so, will pave the way for it to stagnate. There is more to life than physical comfort and the possession of luxury items or non-essential comforts of life. Throughout the ages, man has fought and died for freedom. Like what I mentioned before, freedom of speech is fundamental to the functioning of democracy.
http://www.online-literature.com/orwell/1984/
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