Remember that joke from the cold war period? A healthy dog from socialist East Germany sneaked into democratic West Germany and encountered a lean and thin West German dog. The West German dog scrutinized the outlander and then said, “You look well fed and well looked after, why have you come here then? Life is not easy here – nothing is free.” The visitor replied, “I can see that but you know what, you have everything there except you can’t bark out your feelings.” That’s freedom of speech.
The first amendment of the constitution of the USA states, “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. “
Article 11 of the EU charter states, “1. Everyone has the right to freedom of expression. This right shall include freedom to hold opinions and to receive and impart information and ideas without interference by public authority and regardless of frontiers. 2. The freedom and pluralism of the media shall be respected.”.
In an article titled ‘Comparing Free Speech: United States v. United Kingdom’ published in the University of Baltimore Law Forum in 1989 Professor Stephen J. Shapiro claimed, “Britons historically have, and still do, exercise some of the broadest free speech rights of any people on earth, especially in their ability to criticize the government, a most important bellwether of free speech rights.”
So, the west can rightfully boast of freedom of speech. They have indeed established that and are trying to spread that ideal throughout the world. We can’t help noticing the USA and the western governments’ pursuit of the freedom of press or freedom of speech worldwide.
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This article was published in the Daily Sun on July 27, 2022. Please read the full article here or here.