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The Right To
Object
But that is ‘out there’. Not here. This is a liberal democracy and
do we not rejoice? For we are young and
free
. But have you heard of
the Australian Border Force Act 2015? It’s a new law that stops
workers in Detention Centres revealing what they see while doing
their jobs. Does that sound like free speech? The government says it
is only trying to protect operational security. But hold on a minute,
couldn’t that law be used to send doctors to jail for reporting abuse
of asylum seekers?
Freedom of speech is a fundamental right, but not an absolute
one. We are not free to ‘chat’ about howwe might undertake criminal
acts. Freedom of expression does not extend to expressing oneself if
that causes physical harm to others, such as with child pornography.
But come back from these extremes and it is hard to agree on what
the necessary limits need to be.
Recently, when extremists murdered Charlie Hebdo’s employees
in Paris because their cartoons had caused offence by ridiculing the
Prophet Mohammed, we started to think hard about these limits.
Should my right to speak freely include a right to offend? Our
own government recently considered repealing the protections that
outlaw speech that offends on the basis of race. The plan has been
shelved, so for now there is one ground on which I am not free to
insult you.
Maybe that sounds right. But even laws that are introduced to
tamp down on the most poisonous of utterances can end up as a tool
of repression. In Rwanda, for example, discussion of ethnic culpability
for the 1994 genocide that disagrees with the official version is banned.
The stated reason is to avoid a resurgence of ethnic hatred. Critics say
that the government uses these restrictions to crack down on dissent
of many kinds.
As Voltaire said, I disapprove of what you say but I will defend to
the death your right to say it. The fact that I find something offensive
should not be used as an excuse for shutting down the speech.
Because that is exactly how millions of people are silenced the world
over, that is how repressive regimes thrive.
Did I insult you by not greeting you in the usual manner of a
speech today? I invite you, tell me what you really think; do your
worst, if you really feel the need to say it.
For what protects your right to say things I find objectionable is
precisely what protects my right to object.
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