Each of us is certain to encounter opposing or offensive ideas as we go about our lives.
One of the truest tests of our commitment to freedom is whether or not we resist the temptation to silence those with whom we disagree.
Some believe that certain viewpoints are so dangerous that we cannot risk even considering them.
These are the individuals who cheer for censoring any idea with which they are uncomfortable.
A zeal for trying to control what ideas other may or may not hold is not a reliable measure of the soundness of our own opinions.
If anything, it indicates a lack of confidence in our ability to articulate our own viewpoint.
Rather than paying the price to become informed and to persuade others regarding the virtues of our ideas, we find it easier to cheer as dissenting voices are silenced.
There is a better way.
The best counter to bad ideas is to encourage more—not less—free speech.
John Stuart Mill explained why this is the better approach when he wrote:
“…the peculiar evil of silencing an opinion is that it is robbing the human race;… If the opinion is right, they are deprived of the opportunity of exchanging error for truth: if wrong, they lose… the clearer perception and livelier impression of truth, produced by its collision with error.”
We don’t have a duty to embrace objectionable ideas when we encounter them.
But censorship is a practice best done at the individual level.
Hyde In Plain Sight is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.
Thank you for subscribing. Leave a comment or share this episode.
Share this post