Freedom Of Speech According To Race And Religion

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According to research, freedom of speech refers to the right of people to say what they want and express their views publicly without the fear of getting into any troubles (Dictionary.com). There are many countries in the world that allows their citizens to speak freely without being subjected to law against libel. With reference to Heather (2014), countries like United Kingdom, Australia and Japan practices freedom of speech and New Zealand is the top country with the most relaxed freedom of speech (Heather, 2014). Also, the Press Freedom Index is used to rank countries according to how much freedom the citizens or reporters enjoy in the country. According to the ranking released by Reporters without borders, Finland is ranked number one in …show more content…

According to (benefitOf.net), one benefits of freedom of speech is that sharing of ideas and being able to express opinions freely enhances productivity. In my opinion, I feel that one of the benefits of freedom of speech pertaining to race and religion is that one can express what he feels and his view on another race or religion. This can allow different races to understand what others feel about their culture and can take necessary actions to reduce friction. Such actions can be campaigns or advertisements to allow people to be aware and educate them on a certain race or religion’s culture. This allows different races and religions to better understand each other and ensuring a stable multicultural society. This privilege however, is often abused. Some people racially abuse or make fun of another ethnic group and the usage of vulgarities makes the situation worst. An example is Amos Yee. Amos Yee posted on his personal blog discriminating Christianity and celebratory comments after the passing of Singapore’s founding father, Lee Kuan Yew. His actions angered many Singaporeans. A man even went to publicly slap Amos Yee in the face. Amos Yee was arrested and charged in court for his sensitive comments about Christianity. In Singapore, to maintain a multicultural society, the government has strictly prohibited offensive remarks towards other race and religion. According to Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, he states that Singapore will not hesitate to act firmly if need, because if conflict erupts, it will result in a grave damage to our social fabric. (Mr Lee Hsien Loong, 2015). Internet censorship also helps in preventing access to sites that promotes racist, homosexuality or even fascism. The Media Development Authority (MDA) is also set up to monitors and filters

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