[Barrin92]

>Free speech trumps ethics and peace -- without free speech, we have neither

I really don't understand the purpose of these fortune cookie slogans. First off, how does 'ethics' vanish if we curb free speech? Like is there a date where we solved ethics and now every moral framework that does not value freedom of speech highly is just invalid, like some sort of math problem?

Regarding peace it's just flat out wrong. Of course you can have peace without free speech, probably much more of it. Of course it's worthy asking if sacrificing speech for more peace is justified or not.

But in all seriousness can we stop being dogmatic and unthinking about free-speech, which is in itself kind of ironic? You can debate everything, just not whether free speech is debatable apparently.

[ekianjo]

You can make the claim that ethics are a way people agree on what is acceptable or not and for this agreement to happen you need to have freedom of expression in the first place. Otherwise its just the whims of the ruler instead of a system of values.

[slibhb]

> I really don't understand the purpose of these fortune cookie slogans. First off, how does 'ethics' vanish if we curb free speech?

Ethics are normative. They shift over time and everyone contributes, partly through speech. Restricting speech cripples this long-running, civilization ethical discussion.

You are engaged in sawing off the branch we're all standing on.