Introduction

Earlier today, Hive account@theycallmedan posted a new initiative inviting people to weigh in on the topic of free speech. He invited us to adress the following questions — What does free speech mean to you? Do you believe free speech is worth saving? If so, why do you believe it is important?

Throughout human history, propaganda and censorship have been favorite tools of self-styled elite controllers of the populace to help maintain a grasp on not only the bodies and physical possessions of the people, but over their still more dear treasures as well — their hearts and minds. With the exponential growth of technology over the past decades, many new tools have been born for the dissemination of ideas — as well as their suppression.

In this article I will argue that free speech is a vital part of the further evolution of the human species; without it, we will not be able to expand beyond the old patterns of enslavement, hatred, and dehumanization of fellow members of our human race. In short, free speech represents life and free interchange of ions: air to breathe, where censorship leads ultimately to stagnation, inequality, enslavement, and suffocation ending in the expiration of our species.

Free speech means allowing a diverse forum of thought and expression to flourish, as naturally occurs as an outgrowth of the interactions between sentient individuals, who beg to differ in order to more clearly see their unique viewpoints. The purpose of a free forum of discussion is not to align the thoughts of the entire human race as quickly as possible, but to provide a space in which perhaps they may find common ground over the course of generations of discourse. Moreover, disagreements can hopefully be resolved logically and humanely instead of resorting to animalistic tribal violence.

To allow and support free speech requires maturity, vision, patience, and inner strength. Maturity in the form of wisdom is required to see that time and again, we were wrong in our perceptions and judgements about reality, and are likely to err again in our exploratory thought. Vision is needed to discern that while censorship and enslaving minds may be the "easy way" in the short-term, radical liberty of conception is necessary for future generations of humanity to come into their own. Patience is a must because the human organism tends to learn quite slowly over the course of decades and centuries — and lastly, inner strength is indispensable — that we are able to intuit our inherent self-worth regardless of who may disagree with our own views, along with granting that same worth to all beings unconditionally instead of only when we see eye-to-eye with them.

At the same time, fostering free speech means being aware of human governments' tendency to succumb to greed for ever-increasing power at the least cost to themselves — and at any cost necessary to the populace. We must look soberly at human history, noting how frequently the advocates for freedom, taking the role of "liberators of the people" quickly become tyrannical and re-enslave the naive masses once again as soon as they achieve power. So maintaining free speech is not just a passive, hands-off process, but one requiring vigilance and initiative-taking. We need to be willing champions of free thought, noble enough to risk sustaining personal philosophical injury in order to embody the bravery of pursuing truth despite what may be revealed.

There is a horrifically dark underbelly of humanity that many are unwilling to examine or even admit. A substantial percentage of human concerns fall under the label "too taboo to be discussed in polite society." Possessions kept locked in the closet begin to fade from memory until we cannot recall what they look like any longer, and even may deny we ever had them, particularly if we throw away the key. Given a long enough timeline with a reliable forum of truly free speech, these uncrossable portals begin to be axed down as we grow more collectively robust.

As animals, we are prone to sloth and selfishness; we would rather tend to our daily survival than contemplate the massive collective suffering of our brethren. It is true that the heart has its temporary limits for what burdens it can bear, which is again why patience is required for us to collectively discover the capacity to be willing to face shadows by deducing the ever-greater light that must have cast them. Over time, free will allows an increasing number of individuals to awaken to the vast capacity of empathy, compassion, forgiveness, and resilience we are all capable of unlocking by choosing courage over fear.

A trait common to great individuals is the ability to transform adversity into fuel for future prosperity. It is the capacity to transcend right-vs.-wrong, victim-vs.-perpetrator, black-vs.-white limited, dualistic paradigms in favor of seeing clearly the intricate order of the cosmos which is far beyond the capacity of the human intellect to comprehend. A forum for free expression is sacred and necessary; we must document honestly the tributaries of human sentiment with their ever-changing, scintillating courses through time. Faithful representations of the actual beliefs held by individuals and groups is important both for current and future world affairs, however monstrous these views may appear at one time or another. Honesty allows us to convert our shared suffering into strength.

Censorship is the refuge of the cowardly. Those who view the suppression of dissenting opinions as strength are weak beyond all measure and can only possess surface-level power. Subconsciously, so-called "controllers" know this, and double down on their draconian measures in fear of losing control, unwillingness to admit wrongdoing, and stubbornness of infantile pride. Those who view certain viewpoints as so dangerous as to not even be safe to discuss are philosophically bankrupt, since they refuse to realize that truth will always emerge victorious given a great enough time-scale. Paired with all the above, those who engage in censorship commonly do so to obfuscate their own terrible crimes against humanity to maintain their immature delusion that the universe will allow them to get away unscathed, even though justice is a basic component of the operation of the cosmos.