The Importance of Freedom of Speech in Society

Running head: POLITICAL SCIENCE
Political Science
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1POLITICAL SCIENCE
The right to express oneself is regarded as a fundamental human right and is a broader
umbrella that covers all the essential human rights available in a society (Barbour & Wright,
2018). The freedom of speech is one such right that falls in the category and it is essential as
it allows people to voice their concerns, opinions and ideas for a better society. It is one of the
most important fundamental rights as it allows the society to change for the good and
progress rapidly.
The freedom of speech allows the people to raise their voice and initiate a change in
the society, it is to be noted that no popular human rights that are prevalent today would be
possible without the idea of free speech. Freedom of speech is a something that includes the
ability to listen to someone who is speaking, and respecting the thoughts that are voiced by
the person. A person should be respectful to both positive and negative thoughts that may
arise on any given topic. The backbone of a free society is the openness to the exchange of
ideas in the society. The notion of free speech allows individuals and groups to protect their
own morals, values, ethics and philosophies and enables them to participate in discussions on
various topics. The tyranny of the government can be avoided with the free speech as it

2POLITICAL SCIENCE
enables an open communication between the government and the citizens (Barbour &
Wright, 2018).
The idea of free speech can even have negative aspects to it if someone uses it in a
wrong intention and defaming manner. The ideas that are shared by free speech can be good
and bad but the reactions that can be evoked to the bad ideas may have significant action in
the society and lead to chaos. The political rhetoric has a theory which is known as slippery
slope, it basically states that the excess of free speech can eventually let the people down and
impact negatively (Barbour & Wright, 2018). This is applicable in practice also as people
tend to overuse the freedom and lose track of what they say and in become aggressive. People
may harm the sentiments of other groups and their ideas and such action can lead to massive
unrest in the entire society. The freedom of speech that hurts others is referred to as the hate
speech, and such hate speeches are the biggest concern as people may take resort to such
practices just because they are fundamentally empowered with a right that ensure them the
freedom to voice their words. There can be situations when the government for the greater
good of the nation can cut off the liberties of the citizen and this is essential in order to
maintain peace in the country (Barbour & Wright, 2018). Sedition from the citizens on