The topic of free speech is not without its difficulties and nuances. After all, we all have a voice and we are encouraged to use it, right? Well yes, except that we’re not. In the current landscape, it seems that more and more people are afraid of expressing their voice, their beliefs, their opinions because they do not ‘align’ with the current ‘in-trend’ narrative. This limits our capacity to make any real positive change as well as hurting others (by shaming them) for the sake of being ‘right’.

This blog post will explore some of the concerns we have around this topic as well as raise the importance of self-expression and acceptance of different opinions.

The current situation

In the previous years, it has become evident that there are certain viewpoints deemed ‘cancellable’ and should one contradict the current social narrative, one will often be branded a ‘villain’.

What started off as a social movement to expose the dark reality of injustice and backward thinking that was indeed prevalent in society has now actually devolved. It has devolved into a radical political and social ideology that wears the mask of ‘virtue’ and is yet on the verge of authoritarianism. This is a bold claim and yet, it is one that can be justified due to the fact that many are being silenced, shamed, attacked for speaking out, on whatever topic it may be, and branded all sorts of names alongside it.

It is quite evident that some people no longer reflect genuine awareness or compassion for others, nor are they embracing intellectual argument and reason. Instead, they build up a false narrative that they are ‘virtuous’ and are ‘fighting for justice’.

However, being intolerant of others has never once been a positive thing, let alone virtuous. Think of all the wars, all the prejudices we have gone through over the thousands of years: all led by intolerance or discrimination of the other and an incapacity to come together. This black and white, us vs them thinking has always led us astray and now it’s picking up even more power on the disguise as being ‘virtuous’.

There is nothing wrong in being different

In fact, if we were to really want to progress society and to live in harmony, then the most important elements would be: empathy, compassion and reason. Not banishment, not name-calling, not attacking those who do not fit in a certain standard. For as long as we live, we will never all think the same. And that’s ok – there is nothing wrong in being different.

Expressing your opinions

An opinion is always personal. It can be formed in a multitude of ways and is based on your life experiences, the culture and society you grew up in, the people around you, the media etc., Everyone has a different experience and different inputs in the form of people, media, culture. Why then are we trying to put everyone into one box and ask them to think only ‘this way’ or ‘that way’?

Why is there suddenly such a demand for conformity where there is zero tolerance to hear a diverse mix of opinions? It seems that in today’s culture, and especially online, there is less and less room for understanding of different viewpoints as well as less room for complex thoughts and arguments.

Instead, it seems to be the case of “I am right, you are wrong” and even more “You are not only wrong but also an [insert discriminatory word here].” The problem with this dogmatic command for authority to what some people have deemed is ‘the right way to think’ inherently kills the ability within people to admit to and express anything that does not confirm to that ‘ideal’.

Unfortunately, due to these occurrences, more and more people are afraid of expressing themselves for the fear of being shamed, ridiculed, silenced and, eventually, cancelled, which is completely valid. We are social creatures and we want to belong and fit in a group (even on a subsconscious level), which is why we are so afraid of speaking up and potentially being judged because this is going against our basic survival instinct (to belong to a group really helped our chances of survival thousands of years ago).

Coming together

We all want to be understood and we seek connections with others. And we all get hurt when we are rejected. Knowing this, why is it then the trend to hurt more and more people? Why can we not allow everyone to express their truths? Why do we want to insist that everyone thinks the same way and it is the only way?

Things are not so black and white, they never were and they never will be. Even if we think of something someone said as ‘absurd’, this is on us, not them. We can choose to either: have a well-intentioned, reasoned argument or we just agree to disagree. In any case, acting from a place of empathy and compassion will have a much higher success rate than coming from a place of hateful rage and spite. For that will not solve any problems nor any of the important issues we may be fighting for.

Without compassion for one another, there can be no change. Without questioning everything and hearing diverse opinions, there can never be true progress. And finally without acceptance, and true respect of others, we will never be able to help anyone.

To listen and to listen compassionately is a sign of true tolerance.

We would like to make it very clear: that we accept all voices, all opinions and we encourage discussion and yes, even disagreements. Because how else can we learn? However, there is a difference between disagreeing and attacking and that is something it seems, the world still needs to learn about.