On Free Speech

On Free Speech was written by Z'ha'dum and published in the Francoist Papers on the 12th of November 2008 alongside articles by Vladimir and Cortath. The article takes a look at the long-running debate over what constitutes free speech in the global community.

On Free Speech

Free speech, the last bastion of the impotent and the hopeless, attempting to silence others by asserting their right to talk. They label the Order, and those of like minds, as the enemies of free speech, attempting to claim that our own expression is unacceptable because it interferes with their right to say what they want and have no consequence come of it. Indeed, the very people who beat the free speech drum the loudest and most often are those who value it least, those who seek to undermine it at every turn. In this paper, I will demonstrate the nature of free expression and demonstrate how those who so repeatedly trumpet it as their call would seek to be its undoing.

Before we can progress further, we must first create a definition for free expression. Free expression is best defined as the ability to speak expression freely without interference from a higher authority. A higher authority does not mean one with more influence, or more strength, or greater eloquence, it means one with the power to create and enforce rules across the scope of a community and enforce them against the will of an individual member thereof. In order for such an entity to exist, it would need to transcend the power of alliances and be capable of enforcing its will, its law on everyone. Further, it would have to be able to physically capable of stopping one from speaking, able to prevent them from uttering anything they did not like. In short, what we are speaking of is an international government.

Some contend the Order is as such, that through attacking those who speak out against them, they are suppressing free speech. Ignoring the obvious factual errors in that statement, even on an ideological level it is nonsensical. The Order has never once been able to forcibly prevent someone from issuing a statement, never once been able to forcibly prevent someone from declaring a war, never once forcibly prevented someone from sending an aid package. This is the great truth of the world, it is a voluntary association of citizens with no force, no power amongst them capable of controlling the speech and actions of the others. The only penalties that can be carried out are the penalties issued from one private citizen to another.

So, as has been proven there is nothing the Order can do to physically stop anyone from doing anything, what does it mean then when one is trumpeting the death of free speech? Indeed, it means the exact opposite of what they say. They wish to be that international government with the authority to regulate the actions and speeches of others. It is not free speech they wish for, it is the ability to speak freely with absolutely no consequences for what they say. They wish to be able to troll, bluster, threaten, and attack while not allowing anyone else to do the same in return to them. Those who most loudly swear by free expression are those who invariably do the most to limit it.

All things done and said are expression as noted, everything from a statement of agreement to a nuclear weapon launched in anger, each conveys a thought, an intent. Violence is an acceptable form of expression in this world, a statement saying "I find what you are doing to be unacceptable" be it trolling, sending aid to an enemy, attacking an ally, or any of the other countless wars in history. Very rare is the true pacifist who will decry violence in every circumstance. Violence is legitimate, it is expression, and to deny either of those things is to deny reality. One might contend it is an overreaction in some cases, indeed, many cases, but the same can be said no less easily of many instances of spoken words.

With all this in mind, when you see one protesting supposed infringements on free speech, what are they really protesting? They are protesting the expression issued by those who do not agree with them. They are protesting speech which differs from their own. They are protesting the ability of the free peoples of this world to say what they wish to say and express that which they wish to express. That is their vaunted free speech, for them to be given a podium from which they can issue forth whatever they choose while facing no rebuttal to their words.

We are together a collection of private citizens, each with the ability to speak and act as we choose, the only censor is ourselves. We do not tell our girlfriends we think ill of them and expect them to stay with us. We do not inform our bosses that we consider them to be severely unpleasant individuals and expect to keep our jobs. We do not tell our neighbors they are the lowest scum in the universe and expect them to do us favors. The fact is amongst private citizens, speech has consequences and accepting free speech means accepting that for the things we say, other will speak and react freely as well. The only censor in this world comes from within, the limits we are willing to accept in reply from others. So long as we are willing to accept all reactions of others, there are no limits on what we say.

We live in free speech, nothing the Order can do will stop that. The only way to stop free speech is to accept the push its "advocates" propound towards international government. When their vision of a world where they are allowed to say anything they want without fear of anything being said back to them is realized, that is how you will know free speech is dead. Until such a time, call the impostors, the fakers, and the phonies what they are, pretenders attempting to warp the meaning of freedom to their perverse and twisted ends of silencing all opposition to them. So long as we remember the price of free speech is others speaking freely, it will live on in this world. It is with that closing thought I ask you to stand by free speech and oppose those who would use the idea of free expression as a warped tool by which to silence their enemies.