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The Paranoia of Free Speech

It is hard to deny that in the contemporary world that is marked by the higher level of

democracy and freedom, the agenda of censorship became much lower than before. Today,

people are granted with more rights to express their opinion and not be punished for their

words. At the same time, it is possible to witness that such a context seems to exist only on

paper. While the legal provisions imply that people have the freedom of speech, the reality is

still different. In his article “Free speech on Australian campuses: Hidden barriers,” Brian

Martin clearly presents this idea, noting that since the freedom of speech can be interpreted as

defamation or dissent, many people simply avoid expressing their own thoughts because they

fear of being perceived in a wrong way. While the author discovers this problem in a rather

narrow environment, which is Australian system of education, it is apparent that the same

problems arise worldwide, making the citizens of all countries limit their self-expression at

study, at work, or in the digital space because they are afraid of the negative consequences of

their words that can be misinterpreted.

For instance, the author talks about the prevalence of so-called self-censorship which

he deems an “insidious” phenomenon (Martin 52). While there is no overt censorship, many

people tend to restrict their self-expression because they want to get advancement, thus

avoiding sensitive topics or changing their commentaries regarding the debatable issues. In

this case, it is evident that many individuals have to modify their ideas just because they

realize that they have to conform to the acceptable patterns of thinking that might be not right

but which are still prevalent. The author discusses that self-censorship prevents people from
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self-development because fearing of being misunderstood, they do not discuss issues and

perspectives that are “dangerous” (Martin 52). As a result, they limit themselves to the

existing ideas, not having the desire to be dismissed and marginalized. In this case, it is clear

that the paranoia of free speech indeed exists.

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Works Cited

Martin, Brian. "Free speech on Australian campuses: Hidden barriers." Australian

Universities' Review, vol.61, no.1, 2019, pp. 49-54.