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Discussion Membership
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Mark Steyn's Freedom
The freedom to offend reflects the bedrock principle of society, with the caveat that the freedom to offend does not imply the necessity to do so. This comes as a surprise to most Americans -- and most Canadians as well -- who understand neither their human frailties nor what is worthwhile about government. When asked to describe virtues of democracy, most recite by rote the standard grade school clichés: "one-person, one vote" and "majority rules." Consider this instead: Democracy codifies the humility that one just might be wrong. Freedom of speech is the tool to discover where. People who treat each other with reciprocity trust freedom of speech to improve the accuracy of personal mental maps of reality. Mental maps are the only tool we have to plan for a better future. Humility and reciprocity are the minimum requirements for behavior at the edge society where any two individuals or cultures meet. At the edge, they act like a friend-or-foe detector. Deduce for yourself from personal experience the importance of what happens at the edge of society: Recall in your past an instance when you thought you were correct but were painfully mistaken. Such experience shows that sometimes we think we are right for no other reason than we think we are right. That leads one to conclude that plans are made not based on reality itself, but on a mental map of reality that is at best only a representation of reality. This realization is humbling. If we think we are correct when we are not, the only way to discover such flaws is through interaction with others. This realization leads to reciprocity ˜ respect for others similarly engaged. We doubt ourselves, and interact with others to minimize that doubt. We help to detect and correct each other's silent flaws, resulting in a more accurate mental map by which to plan one's very best future. While not universal, humility and respect can be treated as if they are since they invariably result from such introspection. Extend this out, because the individual, journalism, and society are like concentric circles. What is important to one applies to the others. Flaws that afflict one can afflict the others. Democracy doesn't presume to get everything right. It doesn't presume to get anything right, but it does institutionalize a continuous and everlasting process to try and try again. It commits to appreciating even the least of us may suggest a better way and work to convince others of it. Society requires the freedom to offend.
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