By now many of you have heard that Alex Jones was banned by Apple, Facebook, Spotify, and YouTube on their respective social media platforms. The companies justified their doing this, all within 24 hours of each other, by saying that Jones violated their hate speech policies. Jones is also known for being big into conspiracy theories, some of which caused significant controversy.
Putting aside the quality of his content, silencing or censoring Alex Jones is a monumentally bad idea. If writing conventions allowed I would repeat that sentence 1,000 times to stress its seriousness.
When it comes to freely expressing oneself, it is the exception that proves the rule. If someone on the fridge is allowed to freely speak, then the rest of us can draw comfort in that we also are free to speak.
Whether or not what people say is good or bad, the basic principle of self-determination demands that people be free to speak their mind. To do otherwise would be to deny a piece of humanity that allows us to flourish at our highest potential: responsibility for one’s actions. If we evolve into a society where are there certain things we can and cannot say, then that externalizes the choice about how to express ourselves. And the more we see our choices as not being our own, then the more we become like sheep and not the leader of of our own lives that we all can be.
Jones is the canary in the coal mine for freedom of speech… and the canary died. If you care at all about being free, this should very much concern you.
Some may ague that Jones is an exception, as his content was so bad and harmful to others. While there are many good points against his content, this ultimately does not matter. In a free society, freedom is something either we all have or all don’t have.
Captain Picard of the TV show Start Trek: The Next Generation put it best,
“You know, there are some words I’ve known since I was a schoolboy: “With the first link, the chain is forged. The first speech censured, the first thought forbidden, the first freedom denied, chains us all irrevocably.” Those words were uttered by Judge Aaron Satie, as wisdom and warning. The first time any man’s freedom is trodden on, we’re all damaged. I fear that today…
We think we’ve come so far. Torture of heretics, burning of witches, it’s all ancient history. Then – before you can blink an eye – suddenly it threatens to start all over again…
Lt Worf: Sir, the Federation does have enemies. We must seek them out!
Oh, yes. That’s how it starts. But the road from legitimate suspicion to rampant paranoia is very much shorter than we think. Something is wrong here, Mister Worf. I don’t like what we have become.”
There can be no exceptions to retaining the freedom to express our thoughts, otherwise we are all slaves to our own delusion of liberty.
Hate speech, as a political or social class, is itself a dubious concept. Yes, people may speak hurtfully and in a mean spirited way, but people have been doing for all of history. In this current social environment, to call something hate speech means that it shouldn’t be said at all, and that people need protection from what harm may be caused by hearing such speech.
There are problems with this approach, it externalizes peoples choices and makes them followers of whoever gets to determine what constitutes hate speech. This structure will inevitably narrow over time what is acceptable speech, because any word or phrase that is not on the list could be used for hate. And when it is, someone will demand equal protection from that hate speech. This ultimately leads to nearly all speech being hate speech. No society can honestly call itself free when this condition is present. Even if the law still says that people may speak, if no one does then it is the same as if we had all bonded ourselves in chains.
To be able to speak without fear of repercussions is a sign of society’s strength. Strong people make for a strong society.
So what is the solution to people speaking hurtfully, spreading fake news, or demonizing others?
More speech but better speech!
Debate is a long held tradition that needs a reformation. Instead of shutting someone down for speaking a stupid idea, explain to people why the idea is stupid, and let the people decide who the idiot is.
Debating the pros and cons of ideas allows the better ones to come to the top, and the lesser ones sink to the bottom. When this happens, society makes progress. People need to not only have better ideas than brutes, but understand why they are better ideas, and most importantly to freely choose those ideas. This internalizes decision making, allowing us to learn the consequences of what we do and say. This informs maturity, which when grown, forms a core of strength that allows us to build the true good life.
Lets all live that life together, beautifully.
