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Coffeeshop Chit Chat - Truth is the best defence</TD><TD id=msgunetc noWrap align=right> </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE><TABLE class=msgtable cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="96%"><TBODY><TR><TD class=msg vAlign=top><TABLE border=0 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%"><TBODY><TR class=msghead><TD class=msgbfr1 width="1%"> </TD><TD><TABLE border=0 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0><TBODY><TR class=msghead vAlign=top><TD class=msgF width="1%" noWrap align=right>From: </TD><TD class=msgFname width="68%" noWrap>egusick <NOBR></NOBR> </TD><TD class=msgDate width="30%" noWrap align=right>Nov-19 4:43 pm </TD></TR><TR class=msghead><TD class=msgT height=20 width="1%" noWrap align=right>To: </TD><TD class=msgTname width="68%" noWrap>ALL <NOBR></NOBR></TD><TD class=msgNum noWrap align=right> (1 of 1) </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></TD></TR><TR><TD class=msgleft rowSpan=4 width="1%"> </TD><TD class=wintiny noWrap align=right>41367.1 </TD></TR><TR><TD height=8></TD></TR><TR><TD class=msgtxt>
BRILLIANT LETTER:
Truth is the best defence
Letter from Khairulanwar Zaini
06:06 PM Nov 18, 2010
http://www.todayonline.com/Voices/EDC101118-0000220/Online-only---Truth-is-the-best-defence
I REFER to the recent letter by Mr Cao Yilun ("A delicate balancing act", Nov 15) which argued that the conviction of Alan Shadrake for contempt of court displays our commitment to the responsible exercise of our rights.
The mature exercise of our rights and expressive freedom is indeed desirable. However, I find this method of cultivating responsibility peculiar: Circumscribing our expressive freedom denies everyone the opportunity of exercising it, let alone exercising it in a responsible manner.
In designating certain statements to be beyond the pale of the law, it forecloses the chance for any individual to reflect and consider the implications of his speech. The preclusion of "irresponsible speech" via punishment merely creates dogma, and hardly engenders responsibility.
If Mr Cao were to read John Stuart Mill further, he would find the perfect antidote to false and deceptive speech: Precisely more free speech! The "biased opinions disguised as objective truths" can be effectively countered by enabling more speech to defeat these deceptive claims - the Government would have found the media an amenable platform to comprehensively rebut Shadrake's allegations that they find problematic.
The importance of expressive freedom to clarify falsehoods should not be understated: It is critical and robust debate that allows us to apprehend clearly the truth of the matter, not verbal or legal fiat.
To borrow the wisdom of Thomas Jefferson, "it is error alone which needs the support of government. Truth can stand by itself". If the assertions in Shadrake's book Once A Jolly Hangman were patently untrue, the contempt of court action would, accordingly, prove unnecessary: The Government could furnish its own arguments convincingly without having to rely on the criminal justice system.
Mr Cao makes much of our communitarian values, but I believe that this evinces the importance of unfettered expressive freedom. While we could grant that a particular community could collectively decide how rights are to be exercised, this would precisely require the wide latitude of expressive freedom to determine these parameters. Communitarian values reflect the moral inputs and assertions of the community, and it is precisely through free speech that these inputs are articulated.
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BRILLIANT LETTER:
Truth is the best defence
Letter from Khairulanwar Zaini
06:06 PM Nov 18, 2010
http://www.todayonline.com/Voices/EDC101118-0000220/Online-only---Truth-is-the-best-defence
I REFER to the recent letter by Mr Cao Yilun ("A delicate balancing act", Nov 15) which argued that the conviction of Alan Shadrake for contempt of court displays our commitment to the responsible exercise of our rights.
The mature exercise of our rights and expressive freedom is indeed desirable. However, I find this method of cultivating responsibility peculiar: Circumscribing our expressive freedom denies everyone the opportunity of exercising it, let alone exercising it in a responsible manner.
In designating certain statements to be beyond the pale of the law, it forecloses the chance for any individual to reflect and consider the implications of his speech. The preclusion of "irresponsible speech" via punishment merely creates dogma, and hardly engenders responsibility.
If Mr Cao were to read John Stuart Mill further, he would find the perfect antidote to false and deceptive speech: Precisely more free speech! The "biased opinions disguised as objective truths" can be effectively countered by enabling more speech to defeat these deceptive claims - the Government would have found the media an amenable platform to comprehensively rebut Shadrake's allegations that they find problematic.
The importance of expressive freedom to clarify falsehoods should not be understated: It is critical and robust debate that allows us to apprehend clearly the truth of the matter, not verbal or legal fiat.
To borrow the wisdom of Thomas Jefferson, "it is error alone which needs the support of government. Truth can stand by itself". If the assertions in Shadrake's book Once A Jolly Hangman were patently untrue, the contempt of court action would, accordingly, prove unnecessary: The Government could furnish its own arguments convincingly without having to rely on the criminal justice system.
Mr Cao makes much of our communitarian values, but I believe that this evinces the importance of unfettered expressive freedom. While we could grant that a particular community could collectively decide how rights are to be exercised, this would precisely require the wide latitude of expressive freedom to determine these parameters. Communitarian values reflect the moral inputs and assertions of the community, and it is precisely through free speech that these inputs are articulated.
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