Censorship, Discernment, And The Dangers Of Free Speech?

Free speech is said to be dangerous. Perhaps it is to a certain degree, for free speech allows good information and objectionable, harmful, false, and sensitive information into the marketplace of ideas.

So, to prevent objectionable, harmful, false, and sensitive information from hurting peoples' ears, the bad information must be strained out and silenced - censored. But therein lies the problem. This way of thinking views the ear as fragile, gullible, and ignorant.

Perhaps ears are fragile, gullible, and ignorant. However, must ears stay weak? Could free speech be upheld and overt censorship avoided if ears were not so fragile, gullible, and ignorant?

This is why it is not only important to teach the mouth to speak nobly but also the ears to listen with discernment. Indeed, ears should be taught to listen with wisdom and discernment. You see, strong, wise, and discerning ears have a sharp perception to judge well all things spoken in the public forums of free speech.

The church has a biblical history of not sheltering ears but equipping ears to hear - teaching ears to hear sound doctrine and resist the urge of wanting to be tickled (e.g., Jesus and Paul's writings). Alas! Keep in mind that when we do not teach ears to hear - and only censor mouths from speaking - we are really prolonging infancy. Sheltering ears through censorship creates children tossed to and fro by every wind of false doctrine that may escape possible censorship. (Heaven forbid anyone uses censorship to keep people in infancy, for this is evil manipulation and ruthless control.)

To the point, censorship of the mouth is not the sole answer to the dangers of free speech; a discerning-wise ear is. Discerning ears can do what censorship tries to accomplish but do it better and without having to completely muzzle a mouth.

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