information. Democracy is communication: people talking to one another about their common problems and forging a common destiny. Before people can govern themselves, they must be free to express themselves. Citizens of a democracy live with the conviction that through the open exchange of and opinions, truth will eventually win out over falsehood, the values of others will be better understood, areas of compromise more clearly defined and the path of progress opened. The greater the volume of such exchanges, the better. The press in a democracy is reliable and useful not because of its good character but because of its great diversity. It may seem a paradox, but in the name of free speech, a democracy must sometimes defend the rights of individuals and groups who themselves advocate such non-democratic policies as repressing free speech. Citizens in a democratic society defend this right out of the conviction that, in the end, open debate will lead to greater truth and wiser public actions. Without the right to gather and be heard, freedom of speech would be devalued. For this reason, freedom of speech is considered closely linked to, if not inseparable from the right to gather, protest and demand change. and stones may break my bones, but names will never hurt “Sticks me”. This children’s rhyme is quoted by David Hamlin. His point is that words and acts are entirely distinct form one another. Acts, he says, can be harmful, but nit words, no word ever committed a crime, “for no name ever violated a law, no speech ever broke a bone”. And yet, words do have consequences. Words can inspire people to do great deeds. They can also lead to crimes.
information. Democracy is communication: people talking to one another about their common problems and forging a common destiny. Before people can govern themselves, they must be free to express themselves. Citizens of a democracy live with the conviction that through the open exchange of and opinions, truth will eventually win out over falsehood, the values of others will be better understood, areas of compromise more clearly defined and the path of progress opened. The greater the volume of such exchanges, the better. The press in a democracy is reliable and useful not because of its good character but because of its great diversity. It may seem a paradox, but in the name of free speech, a democracy must sometimes defend the rights of individuals and groups who themselves advocate such non-democratic policies as repressing free speech. Citizens in a democratic society defend this right out of the conviction that, in the end, open debate will lead to greater truth and wiser public actions. Without the right to gather and be heard, freedom of speech would be devalued. For this reason, freedom of speech is considered closely linked to, if not inseparable from the right to gather, protest and demand change. “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but names will never hurt me”. This children’s rhyme is quoted by David Hamlin. His point is that words and acts are entirely distinct form one another. Acts, he says, can be harmful, but nit words, “for no word ever committed a crime, no name ever violated a law, no speech ever broke a bone”. And yet, words do have consequences. Words can inspire people to do great deeds. They can also lead to crimes.
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