Freedom of speech is a fundamental right in every free society. All rights have ground rules necessary for them to be exercised in a healthy manner for all citizens. Some extreme expressions such as calling for immediate violence on co-citizens or graphic communication to children can’t be allowed.
Beyond that each of us owe a moral responsibility if participating in public discourse. Expressions should be grounded in facts. The old joke “He has an advantage because his argument isn’t encumbered with facts” might be funny but a classic flaw in using the freedom to argue issues in our society.
This freedom only has value if others exercise the maturity and sincerity of listening. There is no more important component of freedom of speech than basing opinions on a sincere study of the facts and issues and listening to other points of view. Free societies fail if too burdened with clichés replacing facts in political discourse.
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