Here is the most critical statement in that piece in my opinion:
Free speech does not extend to telling lies.
Boy does this open a can of worms and a philosophical discussion that can span generations. Actually, I very much disagree. Free speech means just that. Free speech. Responsibility for the consequences of lies is something else.
Once you go down the road of limiting what people are allowed to say based on ethical values, you run into serious problems. Asian cultures, for example, in some cases prefer to tell lies rather than the truth when the truth would cause conflict. Both sides are expected to understand that it is a lie, and it is done to save face. People raised in western cultures have a notoriously difficult time with this concept, and it creates a lot of cross cultural conflict to the uninitiated. But even in the West we have the concept of "white lies". Show me any husband who says "Yes honey. You are fat." and I'll show you a divorcee.
There is another facet though. Are people allowed to be evil with free speech? And by evil in this context I mean using false statements to coerce someone into doing something that is not in their interest. This is a moral problem, and a big one, but you can't eliminate this by moving it (and outlawing it) under the banner of free speech. As I stated above, not all lies are evil, and the perception of whether it is evil or not is influenced by culture.
And if you can't challenge the truth (which might be perceived as telling a lie by the establishment), then exactly how can you bring about change when you disagree about the nature of a fact?
TL;DR: Free speech DOES extend to lying. Individuals and societies need to use other mechanisms to convince people not to do this.
Otherwise, you'll have some authority figure assuming the role of DECIDING FOR EVERYONE what's lying and what's truth. Then that person has ultimate power over everyone. Not cool, if you're American.
Exactly as the current US Govt is pathetically attempting to do
Free speech is one thing, perjury is another. I can tell anyone whatever I want. If I were to say that under oath, and it come out later to the contrary, I would be guilty of perjury
Here is the most critical statement in that piece in my opinion:
Boy does this open a can of worms and a philosophical discussion that can span generations. Actually, I very much disagree. Free speech means just that. Free speech. Responsibility for the consequences of lies is something else.
Once you go down the road of limiting what people are allowed to say based on ethical values, you run into serious problems. Asian cultures, for example, in some cases prefer to tell lies rather than the truth when the truth would cause conflict. Both sides are expected to understand that it is a lie, and it is done to save face. People raised in western cultures have a notoriously difficult time with this concept, and it creates a lot of cross cultural conflict to the uninitiated. But even in the West we have the concept of "white lies". Show me any husband who says "Yes honey. You are fat." and I'll show you a divorcee.
There is another facet though. Are people allowed to be evil with free speech? And by evil in this context I mean using false statements to coerce someone into doing something that is not in their interest. This is a moral problem, and a big one, but you can't eliminate this by moving it (and outlawing it) under the banner of free speech. As I stated above, not all lies are evil, and the perception of whether it is evil or not is influenced by culture.
And if you can't challenge the truth (which might be perceived as telling a lie by the establishment), then exactly how can you bring about change when you disagree about the nature of a fact?
TL;DR: Free speech DOES extend to lying. Individuals and societies need to use other mechanisms to convince people not to do this.
It HAS to.
Otherwise, you'll have some authority figure assuming the role of DECIDING FOR EVERYONE what's lying and what's truth. Then that person has ultimate power over everyone. Not cool, if you're American.
Exactly as the current US Govt is pathetically attempting to do
Also why we're in serious trouble when swearing to tell the truth with a hand on the bible is meaningless for most of society
Free speech is one thing, perjury is another. I can tell anyone whatever I want. If I were to say that under oath, and it come out later to the contrary, I would be guilty of perjury