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Freedom Of Speech Essay

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The idea to be able to express your opinion freely is one that dates back to Ancient Greece. The city of Athens had an extraordinary governmental system for its time. In the 4th and 5th century BC Athens was ruled by a democracy. The democratic system allowed all male citizens to engage in the political arena. As male citizens were so directly involved in Athenian politics, the right to freedom of speech was given to all of them. Without this right the participants would not have been able to express their opinion on the political state of affairs in Athens. This would make Athens less of a democracy and more of an autocracy, ruled by either one or several of the same ideologies. (Smith, D., & Torres, L. (2006))

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This is firstly due to the network of information that makes global societies interdependent. There are no countries that can make any decisions about matters of great consequence without international cooperation. The Internet has provided an global marketplace of ideas that can give answers to matters that one nation cannot solve by itself. There will not be a free and equal generation of answers, however, unless there is a global agreement on censorship. It should be clear whether censorship should be enforced or not and to what degree. Secondly, it has never been more important to have the ability to think critically and be tolerant than now. It is vital for the well-being of an individual in today's society. This social development has become evident on the online marketplace of ideas. When there is an increasing amount of input, there will undoubtedly be a lot more opinions to take into consideration, which will blur the definition of free speech. Finally, this way of life contributes to the necessary transformation of laws and constitutions. Since the establishment of freedom of speech as a right, there have been many changes enforcing more and less protection for speech. This has, in the meantime, been accompanied by the development of a more openminded world, in which there are many voices that feel the need to be heard. (Puddephatt, A. (2011,

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