Freedom Of Speech
This week Dolce and Gabbana made controversial remarks in an Italian publication causing a social-media firestorm {#boycottdolceandgabbana}, as they referred to IVF babies as "synthetic" in addition to other hurtful comments.
Last year, Duck Dynasty's Phil Robertson found himself in hot water over a GQ interview. He made some poorly worded statements about the LGBT community and said some racially ignorant remarks.
In the aftermath of these interviews, both parties citied the same thing in response to the backlash: Freedom of Speech.
Freedom of speech is paramount in an open and free society. There was a time when freedom of speech wasn't a right- and in some places today, censorship still exists. I may not agree with what you say, but I will defend your right to say it.
This is where I struggle though. I think we can misinterpret what freedom of speech means. We can say whatever we want (within legal parameters) but, that does not mean that we should. We are accountable for what we say.
I love this acronym. Before you speak, ask yourself is it:
When Phil Roberston was fired form Duck Dynasty (he since has been reinstated), many people cried foul (pun intended). They thought this cause-and-affect action was a breach of Phil's right to free speech. It wasn't. He had the right to say what he did. GQ had the right to publish it. And A&E (Duck Dynasty's network) had the right to fire him.
Juxtaposed to this was a recent event regarding former baseball player, Curt Schilling and his daughter. This proud father congratulated his daughter on Twitter about her acceptance into college. In response, there were several misogynistic and violent threats (including rape) made to this young woman. Curt decided that these trolls should be held accountable. He retweeted those vile tweets in order to expose these individuals which led to one man being fired and another being expelled from university. Way to go Curt! Stop the trolls!
We absolutely need to cherish and defend our freedom of speech. With that said, let us remember that freedom of speech is not a licence to abuse. It is a responsibility.
The tongue can bring death or life; those who love to talk will reap consequences.
PS. I realize my posts may have taken a soapbox-ish turn lately. I've just been doing a little soul searching. Mommy-posts and creative projects will be coming here to THE MOM JUNGLE soon! Thanks for bearing with me- I try to keep it real. :)
