Freedom of Speech

Back in the 80's a wave of valued immigrants arrived in Australia from Africa and many of them joined a particular political party and were most welcome to do so. They saw in that party many of the things in which they believed and had lost from whence they came. What took a little time however was for some of them to understand was that they had come to a much freer society and where most political parties were much "broader churches" than what they were used to; this prompted some spirited and in some case heated debates and created an environment, on more than one occasion, where I first experienced an attack on freedom of speech. Our "new" Australians tried to shout down those with whom they disagreed and the "domestic" members wanted the new members ejected. Both were wrong and with the foolish bravery of a youth I told both camps so in no uncertain terms. I remonstrated with the longer-term members to be patient with people learning the ropes and with much to offer and I advised the newcomers to respect other people's rights to voice their own opinions especially in the delivery of their arguments and to show their opinions through the democratic process. Thankfully good sense most often prevailed and though I can't say because I went off to the UK soon after)I am sure the boundaries blurred quickly and both camps integrated nicely. Watching the television the other evening with Mr Rodd's nephew and mate dressed-up in KKK costume brought these memories to mind. Whilst the KKK costumes are abhorrent in what they represent in the USA ( quite different in some parts of Europe) and evoke in our common consciousness disgusting acts of violence and racism the irony was lost on most of the media and probably on a good deal of the population too. The said gentlemen were trying to make the point that there are racist elements in our own society. Though they lacked taste the only oxygen they were given was by the media and they seemed to be somewhat lonely an sad individuals rather than inciters of violence themselves. It is not necessary to take stand on the issue here but I would defend their right to say what they were saying. Whether I agree with them or not is not relevant and herein lies the challenge to defending the freedom of speech; people are like to say things that we don't like. However once we erode that right it is very hard to re-institute it and I fear that we have gone a good way down the negative path already. Political correctness born of a societal guilty conscience and appeasement to those more strident and less accommodating of our own heritage end-up crimping those that could and would speak up for freedom and the right to choose. My conclusion; defend other people's rights to say what they think in a universal and not-just-for-some sense and to personally exercise that right ourselves. Best regards, Jonathan.