Today I want to talk about free speech and citizenship. We’ve touched on it before, but we haven’t devoted a whole episode to just that topic before.
Consider this: In any kind of authoritarian government there is no need for free speech. In a monarchy, or dictatorship, or fascist, or any kind of tyrannical government there is no need for the people to have any voice because it is all top down. One guy (and it’s almost always a guy) makes all the decisions and that’s how things are done. The people have no say in anything – so why do they need the permission or ability to speak? There is no need for them to have a voice. But in a government where the people have power, it is absolutely essential for the people to be able to speak, both to each other and to those who rule. The right to speak and the power of the people within the government are directly related. The more powerful the people are to rule themselves the more voice they have in the public sphere to speak to themselves and to those who ostensibly are in charge. [Read More]