Thanks for joining me! While I am still working on setting up the blog, I would like to tell you a little about it and why I’m doing this. As most of you may guess, the English translation of the Latin title means “Free Voice”. It derives from the early Roman Republic concept of “Civitas”, meaning a citizen’s rights.
It is alarming to hear the ever increasing attacks on free speech under such dangerous concepts as the fight against hate speech, holding internet companies responsible for whatever is judged to be objectionable postings by third parties, or even more alarming, the growing intolerance for free speech in our academic institutions, and of course in our politics.
When I read an article by Fleming Rose some years ago about the attack on the journalist who published cartoons showing Mohammed with a bomb in his turban, he said something that really struck a nerve about what free speech is all about – “The only right we do not and should not have in a liberal democracy is the right not to be offended.”
This blog is not just about the right of free speech, but an exercise in free speech. The values and judgements that will be published in this blog are not meant to offend, but to create a civil discourse about issues current or past. While we are all free to agree or disagree with what will be said, no one has the right to repress what is said, even if they are offended.
#LIBERTY
Libera Voce 