How does your voice roar for freedom of speech today?

by Rev. Dr. Ginny Brown Daniel

It seems the world is all a twitter with Elon Musk’s Twitter tirade. Will he or won’t he buy the social media behemoth? Is this morally good or bad? Is he an advocate for free speech or just the richest man in the world able to flex his powerful thumbs to have his global say once again? Frankly, I’ve given way more type space to his power-hungry crusades than I care to give to a rich, white American man of privilege.

When I was growing up, I was taught the importance of freedom of speech with the limitation that you can’t go into a movie theater and falsely yell, “Fire!” Oh, pre-social media free-speech naivitee! Sadly, those moral guardrails were torn off with the birthing cries of Twitter as the “Free speech wing of the free speech party” and a certain former American president, who lit our extremist wildfire with the very worst language and actions of our global society.

What fascinates me more as an observer to this 21st century existential dilemma is the question, “Are there necessary boundaries to the public square of freedom of speech when social media now embodies a glut of opportunities for any and every one to express their thoughts?”

In a highly recommended Atlantic Article (4-14-22), Renée DiResta says, “The public-square metaphor places wholly unrealistic expectations on what social media is, or should be. We have never had even a national public square, let alone a global one, because communities and cultures differ on what norms and values should shape their common spaces.”

As FutureWomenX leaders, our voices are critical in our professions, communities, and spiritual journeys. We know what it feels like when our very voice has been muted, and we know the healing work we must do to express our voice with a roar of authenticity!