Those Who Seek to Suppress Free Speech Pose a Greater Risk Than Those Who Abuse It
Speech can do harm and is at times execrable. It’s a powerful tool that throughout history has proven itself capable of turning people against each other. It has also been applied for good, toppling any number of dictatorships. Many have used it to inspire beauty, faith, and courage, few more famously than Sir Winston Churchill who, it was said, “mobilized the English language and sent it into battle.”
For all its faults, I can’t shake the fear that those who wish to suppress our freedom of expression are a greater threat to democracy than are those who abuse it.