Freedom of speech and the responsibility of those with a voice. I have been reading about Fred Niles recent comments around the Martin Place incident and have mixed feelings. On one hand I do believe in the freedom of speech argument that means he has the right to voice an opinion, an opinion that any reasonable person would find callous, disrespectful and wrong...BUT....I also believe that those with access to the microphone of social commentary should be responsible with how they use it. Raising questions, challenging the status quo, voicing a minority or majority opinion should never been silenced, but when statements are specifically designed to intimate, ridicule, passively assert power and diminish others I believe we have lost something. I personally expect more articulate and evidence based discussion from our elected representatives. I want the smartest and best to be running our country and as a citizen to have access to dynamic and exciting discussion. The personal views of elected representatives are useful. They express their values and what they think is important and timely to tackle. So in this vein Fred Nile is expressing his parliamentary responsibility as he sees it...BUT.....where are the voices who disagree with Fred Nile? Are they in our parliaments? Will they speak out? I think our elected representatives are more interested in being politicians than parliamentarians....I make a distinction. Politicians are interested primarily in the mechanics of being influential and Parliamentarians are primarily interested in representation of the people, their values, ambitions and problem solving around the challenges they face. They are not mutually exclusive. I believe many elected representatives want to be small targets and are concerned about their election and reelection more than expressing key values and philosophies. Im keen to hear complex issues discussed in a complex manner. I am keen to hear agreement and disagreement through public debate (not behind the scenes negotiations). So to Fred Nile.....to paraphrase Voltaire....now youve had the microphone hand it to someone who disagrees with you and have a good debate about it. What are your thoughts? voltaire.ox.ac.uk/www_vf/about_voltaire/didnt_say.pdf
Posted on: Thu, 15 Jan 2015 23:28:07 +0000
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