Perhaps the most intelligent statement I've ever heard dicussing the notion of freedom of speech was from a man I listened to on NPR whose name I have long since forgotten, but whose comments stuck with me. The news article was about the apparent growing popularity of 'hate groups' now that they were able to advertise their message online, and work to bring their straggling members from various communities together on the internet. He stated that, for the first time in our history as a species, the potential to really take advantage of free speech had finally been realized. In previous years, generations, eras, etc, countries like the USA could hold forth the ideal of freedom of speech with the safe assurance that no matter how loudly someone spoke the words, it was exceptionally difficult to get those words into a position where there was any chance that most other people could ever hear them.

The age of the internet changed that and, as our nameless NPR talking head pointed out, we now have to, for the first time in our history, really evaluate the results of true free speech, as in freedom of speech where anyone stands a reasonable chance of not only speaking but of being heard, and determine if we really want to rally behind the ideal like we once did.

I, myself, believe that freedom of speech is paramount to freedom in general. Where freedom of speech is restricted, all other freedoms are weakened, at least in potential, as a result. But that doesn't mean I don't realize the problems of free speech. Free speech allows new ideas that may be useful to the individual, community or species to be heard where they might once have been buried or squelched. It also allows complete idiots to flood our world with completely idiotic notions that other idiots may decide to adopt. This is the price we pay, and, should a safe majority of humanity remain 'smarter than your average idiot', it's hardly a price at all. The key being that each person take advantage of this freedom. Rather like voting, I personally feel that the society is weakened by those who dont' realize that many of these rights aren't merely rights, but responsibilities. You must speak up, you must let the world know what you believe. Shout out your opinions, your beliefs, your ideas, something you heard that intrigued you, anything at all.

Consider the internet, if you will, information in a plasma state. Suddenly we have millions, maybe even billions of people pouring information into the system. Where once such information was slow in the coming, and often even guarded, it now streams about randomly in and out of an almost completely accessable medium. Who knows what we, as a species, may acheive as this collective high energy state continues to build in size and potency?