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To be clear I'm not talking about the First Amendment, I'm talking about free speech.

Don't you think a person should be able to say what they want, when they want, without fear of persecution from their government?




I grew up and chose to remain in the US, and I have never seriously questioned the American norm around speech, but if I lived in a society that never had such a norm, I imagine I would regard the advocates for introducing such a norm into my society to have the burden of proof that doing so would be worth it.

I respect the advocates who make a consequentialist argument for the norm, but not the advocates that say that free speech is a natural right or a God-given right and believe that that settles the question.


> if I lived in a society that never had such a norm, I imagine I would regard the advocates for introducing such a norm into my society to have the burden of proof that doing so would be worth it.

Thank you for being open-minded and for having empathy.


> Don't you think a person should be able to say what they want, when they want, without fear of persecution from their government?

It is possible to both believe something and at the same time, recognize that the belief is not universally held.




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