Freedom of Speech

Citizens worldwide have universal rights of society even though they are not always allowed to express them. One of those rights is freedom of speech. The term ‘freedom of speech’ that will be accounted for in this essay refers to the right to communicate opinions and ideas in speech or in art publicly without government interference. This essay will explore some advantages of having freedom of speech. These include high levels of artistic expression, the right to protest and equality of citizenship.

First of all, freedom of speech leads to greater originality. Art in society with freedom of speech is provocative which means that it can reflect controversial issues in society such as racism or abuse as well as traditional targets of art. Paintings and literature serve as a means to foster strong emotional responses and deep changes in society. Art pushes boundaries of society as the works of provocative artists, writers and poets often pushes citizens to talk about the issues and ideas and to have debates on them. Therefore, art is inseparable from freedom of speech.

Another advantage of freedom of speech is the provision of more accountability in society. If citizens are unhappy with the government’s action, they can freely speak about it as much and frequent as they want, feeling safe and secure that nobody will punish or arrest them for this. Furthermore, freedom of speech allows them to demonstrate for a change in different areas that individuals need. It can be seen that most demonstrations occur in developed countries and governments of those countries mostly accept opinions of its citizens and try to make a change to satisfy citizens’ needs and as a result the quality of life in those countries improves.

Finally, freedom of speech enables all citizens regardless of wealth and social status to have the right to speak their ideas and points of view. This means that it provides individuals equal opportunity to participate in their own society....