Top 10 Times The West Said No To Free Speech
Sometimes it is difficult to explain why freedom of speech is so important. Why should someone say something that might cause offense or upset? Surely it is better to restrict dangerous words in the same way you would restrict dangerous behavior? The problem with this stance is severalfold. Once you start proscribing objectionable words or statements, more restrictions will surely follow. These laws, however well meaning, are also powerful tools that are capable of crushing dissent and narrowing the scope of public discourse.
On this issue, it is not always wise to trust the democratic consensus either. History tells us what happens when society places its unwavering trust in a singular established viewpoint. The scientific community, for example, once thought the earth was at the center of the universe. Galileo upended this theory by suggesting that our planet in fact orbits the sun (heliocentrism) – not the other way round (geocentrism). When Galileo questioned some of the astronomical peculiarities written in the Bible, the Catholic Church labeled the physicist a heretic and placed him under house arrest.