Freedom- An Expression

 

·         In the minds of many Americans, the coronavirus pandemic creates a huge danger to constitutional rights and personal freedom. 

·         Indonesia: Concern about freedom of religion

·         Patricia Mukhim Case Reflection Of Threat To Freedom Of Speech In India, Says Editors Guild

·         European Union warns France over press freedom as it pushes security law

·         As a nation, do we care about freedom of expression?

·         Freedom of speech does not mean freedom to hurt

 

Some of the News headlines I read in Google News section during my search for Freedom. We value our right to move about freely, to practice the choice of faith, to speak freely, to express, or in other words to be able to be ourselves If we think about, when are we most ourselves when we can express.  Freedom is expression can be viewed from two aspects-- Internal & External.

Environmental Factor- Repressive Regimes, discrimination, cultural restrictions, religious and traditional upbringing are some of the environmental factors which have a long-lasting effect on freedom of expression. The environmental factor not only curbs the freedom to express but develops a dogmatic mindset. Awareness if the first step to bringing about change.

Internal Factor- Quite recently I came across the concept of Freeze response in the domain of ‘Flight, fight or freeze’ response. Admittedly I have several times been in the situation. It feels weird. I remember going on stage and practically muting myself. I used to think it was lack of preparation. So I started preparing more. Preparation helped but it was still difficult till I realized that for me I needed to achieve the freedom from judgment. Fear of ridicule, judgment, self-doubt, all lead to this. Introspection is what helps deal with internal challenges of communication.

Freedom of Expression cannot be viewed individually, it as to be viewed as interdependent matrix along with the freedom to choose the freedom of movement, freedom to settle and freedom to be oneself. The path seems difficult but is not treacherous.  Some things that worked for me are-

• -         Read, grow your awareness. Learn more about things.
• -         Connect with people. Find a safe space to express yourself.
• -         Redeem your faith in yourself.
• -         Do one thing every day that you haven’t done before.
• -         Make small goals for expressing yourself.
• -         Have an opinion and express it.

The last point is the amalgam of expression. Once you are aware and abreast with the situation, the need to speak up becomes imperative.  That is the first step of bringing about long-lasting change.

Having this said, freedom of expression is a huge responsibility as it a right. No points for that. We are all witness to the extent of damage this gift can do. Use it with care. There are a couple of pointers that I have learned as part of my research and training.

• -         Wikipedia has a list of 35 biases roughly broadly divided in 9 categories. Why is this important? This is important because no one can live without some kind of bias. The idea is to be aware of it so that it does not affect your decision making and also expression. I have learned it the hard way but knowledge helps.
• -         Fake news and what to do with it- It is not rocket science. One checks the source before posting or better don’t post.
• -         Someone else post is not an opinion of you.  If you can’t say something good, don’t say it at all. Class 2 courtesy lesson.

Freedom of An expression is a privilege. Use it wisely.