Originally published on the CGS blog on January 19, 2015.
Following the despicable terrorist attacks on the staff of the French magazine Charlie Hebdo in Paris on January 7th, a public discussion on the importance of free speech in global society has ensued. While discussion has ranged from the importance of free speech in general and satire in particular to the need to temper speech with respect, these discussions are themselves emblematic of a kind of triumph over narrow-minded extremism: public argument, whether civilized, vulgar, or anything in between, is beyond what a fundamentalist society could permit.
However, the public conversation has been too quick to argue merely for the virtues of free speech in the face of Islamist dogma or against hate speech in favor of conciliation when a much more sinister threat faces global society. Our opportunity to thrive, as nations and as a global people, is harmed more directly and more deeply by institutional limits on free speech than by the occasional attack from outside. These limits take many forms: censorship, media imprisonment and intimidation, domestic spying, to name just a few.
But as we permit—and in some cases, even endorse—these limitations on freedom of speech and expression throughout our societies and around the world, we critically harm the fabric of democracy and individual rights. Institutional restrictions on free speech hamper our ability not only to freely express our own conscience, but also our ability to understand social and political issues and make informed decisions. Furthermore, such restrictions enable the powerful to stockpile their resources and limit the freedom of billions.
One of the most important ways to speak truth to power has historically been a free press. While not every society has a long tradition of a free press, many basic, widely-recognized human rights, including freedoms of thought and religion, freedoms of opinion and expression, and the right to participate in the government of a country, are directly dependent upon a press that presents diverse facts, provides a forum for diverse opinions, and includes resources to investigate and blow the whistle on corruption. Without independent journalism, people are misled, participation is made meaningless, and expression is stifled.
A free press isn’t the only way we express ourselves. Through traditional media, social media, blogs, websites, videos, and more, we continue to find new and myriad ways to connect with one another via technology, and where possible, we meet together in person to talk about issues, to protest, to be a society.
But governments around the world readily censor the internet, they violently quash protest, they even suppress speech by spying on email and phone calls, even millions of them at a time. These violations of our human rights aren’t just far-flung stories of evil dictatorships – they take place right here in the United States, sometimes on our television screens, but just as often behind closed doors, where it’s much harder to root out.
As we continue to grapple with our response to terrorist attacks on one of the foundational institutions of Western society and the global order, we have to remember that “Je suis Charlie” is more than just nodding approval at an abstract concept. In Turkey, in Saudi Arabia, in China, France, and the United States, freedom of speech is under threat if we don’t stand up and fight for it. Don’t accept the incarceration of journalists, the violent suppression of protest, or the censorship of media. Our future depends on it.
