The Right to be Wrong is the Basis of Freedom
Often people are wrong, that’s not news. Do we have the right to be wrong?
When we feel someone is wrong, we have two choices:
1. Let it go because it’s just not worth it.
2. Fight like hell to prove it wrong.
If you are having a petty argument with your wife about whose turn it is to do the dishes, let it go. Peace is so much better- just do the dang dishes. Then go have a beer, knowing damn well you did them last time, but its not worth the fight.
If you are arrested for a crime, you did not commit, you better get yourself an excellent lawyer. Hire one who is ready to go to battle for you. Make sure he or she has concrete evidence to prove your accuser is wrong.
The Battle to be Wrong
There are many examples of things that aren’t worth arguing over. However, there are many things in life, you better get off your butt and fight for.
One of the things you should be fighting for is freedom of speech, because if you don’t have the right to be wrong, then you give up your right to have an opinion. You give up the right to create change.
When you let someone else decide what you can and cannot say, you ultimately give them the authority to suppress your thoughts.
If you can’t speak, or express yourself, then there is no point in thinking.
You hand over all your opinions, ideas, and visions to someone who insists they know better. Your dreams are squashed so don’t bother having any.
Everything is dictated by those who claim to be smarter than you. You are now a robot to the rules being placed upon you. And you dare not question them!
The Heroes and the Forgotten
Thank God, our history is chuck-full of thought leaders, rebels, and those who questioned authority. It’s how we progress. However, many were exiled, imprisoned, and killed for their opinions.
Here is a short list of names you may know. There are millions whose names we will never know.
Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle
Galileo
Charles Darwin
Jesus
Gandhi
Abraham Lincoln
Nelson Mandela
Martin Luther King
Rosa Parks
John Lennon
Julian Assange
Edward Snowden
Censorship is on the Rise
Censorship is on the rise, and some of you are O.K. with it.
There is a large part of our culture that believes misinformation or disinformation, whatever you choose to call it, needs to be censored.
Why?
If you were confident that you were right or telling the truth, wouldn’t you be open to a debate?
Wouldn’t you be open to allowing the opposition to present their case or share their perspective?
Wouldn’t you love to smash em with the facts and bask in the glory of proving them wrong?
Yeah you would!
What if someone was clearly spreading false information about you?
Wouldn’t you be passionate about proving your side, claiming your innocence?
Wouldn’t you want the opportunity to share your perspective?
And lastly, wouldn’t you want the Constitution to defend your right to prove them wrong?
Of course, you would!
You Don’t Always Know You are Wrong.
Some people don’t know they are wrong. There are many reasons for this. One being they didn’t get all the facts.
Just like in a courtroom, both sides need to be presented. The jury decides what is most likely true.
In science and research, a hypothesis is tested over and over. Nothing is determined from one study because factors vary, conditions change.
Opinions are often wrong, and most likely will never be altered unless a person is open to hearing another perspective.
Clear, open communication is the only way to address this.
What if You KNEW You Were Wrong?
People who know they are wrong don’t often admit it.
Yes, these people exist. We all know someone!
How do people like this often behave when being confronted?
They aren’t open to a challenge. They don’t want the other side to have a chance to speak, do they?
They hide behind their veil of arrogance, stomp their authoritarian boots and destroy the messengers of insight, wisdom, and truth. They attempt to stifle those who dare to question them.
They may even begin to make up names for their opposition and try to convince others they’re insane!
This is not the behavior of someone with strength and confidence. This is the coward’s method of handling a challenge. This is the liar’s strategy when afraid of being exposed.
Why the Fear?
False information is nothing new. Many people are wrong now and have been wrong in the past. Humans will continue to be wrong in the future.
When did we lose our ability to see that there are mistakes, there are 2 sides to every story, there are truths and lies, there are facts and fiction?
Isn’t it our duty to hear both sides?
Wouldn’t you want to be heard before you were exiled, imprisoned or killed? Wouldn’t you want a fair trial and jury?
Yeah you would!
So why can’t we be exposed to opposing opinions or information? What is it that we must be protected from?
Could those who censor our voices be afraid they will lose control of the masses, that the untamed and uneducated will take over the world?
Come on!
When you have freedom of speech, freedom to think, and freedom of expression you then have artists, writers, musicians, inventors, and leaders. Together we make progress and experience breakthroughs.
I Stand with YOU.
You have the right to be wrong. You have the right to disagree. You have the right to debate. You have the right to present your case. You have the right to sing, scream, and shout, and I WILL ALWAYS DEFEND YOUR RIGHT, whether I agree with you or not.
Censorship is Dangerous
If we as a society cannot learn how to listen with an open mind and speak with an open heart, we will never make progress.
Maybe no one is right, and we are all wrong-wrong for thinking our brother is our enemy; wrong for thinking those who control the information are our friends.
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