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Sunday, July 8, 2007
1:41 AM
In the context of Singapore’s multi-racial society, where there is cultural and religious pluralism, I think that both Singer’s view of freedom of expression and Szilagy’s view of social responsibility are in their own means applicable in Singapore’s context. Adopting both methods would prove a success in handling the fragile racial and religious harmony that we currently have.
Singer feels that freedom of expression is essential to any democracy and therefore should not be limited. He expressed, “freedom to say what everyone else believes to be false, and even what many people find offensive….Without that freedom, human progress will always runs up against a basic roadblock.” Indeed, to all four of our major or minor ethnic groups, be it Chinese, Malays, Indians or Eurasians, freedom of expression is a form of equalitarianism, where people are allowed to speak of their minds and thoughts. If we were not allowed to speak up, and merely following out government leaders blindly, the country as a whole will be obstructed from reaching greater heights.
On the other hand, Szilagy rhetorically asked, “What is more important for the democratic advancement of a society – to ensure the freedom of expression of all its citizens (within the limits marked by law) or to protect the collective interests of society?” Undeniably, this is true to a certain extent that if there was too much emphasis on the freedom of expression, the interests of society would be largely neglected.
However, if both these views are taken into account and used measurably, such that freedom of expression is granted to minorities or majorities, but they should themselves be responsible for what they say. If what they are going to express might be a threat to the interests of others, then they should not be granted the right for freedom of speech, since they are undeserving of it.
Hence, in conclusion, having the right to express your thoughts must work hand in hand with social responsibility for what you are going to say. Only in this way can Singapore succeed if she was to adopt any of the methods.
