12.02.2025 / Perspectives
Author: Ioana Alexandra Frîncu
What is the most effective way of violating one’s freedom of speech? By silencing them. By making sure they cannot and will not be heard. By censoring their opinions and monitoring their every thought and even their existence, just to ensure that they “don’t step out of line.”
We’ve seen this one too many times by this point. The most relevant example that I can give comes from my own country, Romania. How many innocent people saw a life of imprisonment and torture simply because they dared to speak their mind? How many people died at the hands of a cruel dictator with a god complex? How many geniuses were lost because they were afraid to upset the Securitate?
The answer will always be way too many. This is why we need to fight for our freedom of speech. So that nobody can quiet down our voices – not even ourselves. We need to stand up and speak our mind if we ever want to move forward in the direction that we, the people, want.
It is no secret that we are yet to know the true power of freedom of expression. But it is a constitutional right for a reason. Never let anyone take it away from you; it is probably your most useful asset.
Departments: FRI Media Lab; Society, Crisis, and Resilience Program; Policy Analysis and Outreach Department; Research Department; Center on Global Affairs and Post Development.
Regions: Global, Europe, Romania.
Themes: Cities; Civic Engagement; Civil Society; Communism and Totalitarianism; Democracy and Democratization; Freedom of Expression; Human Rights; Media and Journalism; Social Inequalities.