The first amendment of the Constitution for the United States of America reads thus:
“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”
In today’s world the spread of misinformation is a hot topic in the political spectrum. Has free speech gone too far? Should we censor those who deliberately spread lies and mislead those gullible enough to follow them?
There is a misconception that says that “free speech” means that I can say anything I want to, regardless of how stupid and outlandish the claim may be. It says, “I have a right to spread my opinion, no matter what the evidence says to the contrary.” This is the myth of free speech.
Freedom of speech does not give justification to the lie. Rather, free speech allows for open discussion and debate on any topic, without the fear of one side or the other to be shut down without presenting their case.
This is the issue that most people do not realize about free speech. If we believe a thing about a certain topic, and someone comes along and presents evidence that proves that our belief system is wrong, we have no right to spread that belief system any longer.
You do not have a right to your opinion. Rather, you have the obligation to prove that your opinion is right. If you come across evidence that proves your belief wrong, yet hold on to that belief, then you are promoting a lie.
Even if you know the truth but do not present enough evidence to prove that your viewpoint is true, you are not allowed to continue spreading this viewpoint. In order to be justified in your belief system, you must provide sufficient evidence to back it up.
This is not about accepting anything that comes our way. This is about acknowledgement of the truth.
Refusal to accept evidence, or “I don’t like that idea therefore the idea is wrong,” does not constitute as evidence for either side of an argument, and refusal to hear the other side of the argument does not constitute as evidence for your side of the argument, whether good or bad.
What is truth?
How does one determine what is true?
Very simple. By studying the evidence as little bias as possible – looking at as many sides of the issue as possible – being willing to accept the conclusion even if it goes against the very foundation of what your life is based upon. Again, refusal to accept the truth does not constitute as evidence against it.
There is not “your truth,” or “his truth,” or “their truth.” There is THE truth. W. Clement Stone said, “Truth will always be truth, regardless of lack of understanding, of disbelief, or of ignorance.” There can only be one truth, only one reality that is true. However, there are many experiences within this reality that can muddy the water.
Police officers investigating an accident or crime scene know this. One witness can testify that one string of events as the true events, while another witness can leave out details, add details, or even contradict what the first witness said. This is why as many witnesses as possible are needed for any kind of serious investigation. It is the investigator’s job to filter through all of the data and come up with the most reasonable explanation possible, supported by the most evidence. If the majority people’s testimony line up or supplement each other, then this is the most likely chain of events.
In reality, we all have biases regarding any area of inquiry. We all have paradigms that shape how we view the world – belief systems that are the glasses through which we interpret reality. The goal of truth seekers is to suspend these biases enough to critically evaluate every piece of information, then to form a belief regarding the issue at hand.
Belief in a particular idea does not mean a blind acceptance of said idea. Rather, we believe something because of the evidence that was presented at the time that we accepted the belief system.
The problem is that once an idea is firmly implanted as a belief system, it is very difficult to overrule. Many times – in fact, most often – these belief systems constitute a large portion of our identity, formed in early childhood, and thus, any evidence against what we believe often feels like a personal attack on our identity.
This is the largest problem that I see in the world today. Too many people are too concerned with maintaining their version of reality and their own public image rather than trying to find out the true reality.
I believe that this is by design. People who are fighting amongst themselves, who are too fixated on “left” vs. “right” are too distracted to look behind the curtain. They are too busy yelling and screaming at each other that there is no room for civil discourse.
Debate and logic are thrown out the window, in favor of name-calling and emotion.
The thought of “what if they’re right” is too scary because, again, they have tied so much of their identity to their current paradigm that to let go of it means an entire reconstruction of their life.
There is the hope of this message. Free speech is reserved for the truth, not for lies, and the only way for us as a society, as a people, as the human race, to find the truth is for us to lay down our arms against one another and consider what each side is saying. Only then can the truth be revealed.
We must stop fighting against each other, while those who instigated the fight laugh at our stupidity.
We have let our emotions run rampant for far too long. We have let it destroy our cities. We have let it destroy our countries. Now, our world is on the brink of destruction.
It is time to let logic and reason take the stand.
Is this dream idealistic? Yes, it is.
It this dream impossible? No, it is not, but it will require us to be willing to let go of our most cherished of belief systems.
Super Success 