FREEDOM OF SPEECH vs SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY

I feel that Szilagyi's view on social responsibility should be adopted in Singapore. Although Singer states that freedom of speech should stand as it is every human's basic right and is essential for the advancement of democratic regimes, which is true, I believe otherwise; at least in the context of Singapore. Freedom of speech is a basic right when speakers use it responsibly. However this is not always the case and there is no room for anyone to use freedom of speech irresponsibly. Hence, in Sinagapore, which is a multi-racial and multi-cultural society and I believe that social responsibility should be practised. This is important if a country such as Singapore wants to achieve political and social stability. Singapore should place this as its top priority rather than catering to its people's want for free speech

In Singapore iresponsible use of freedom of speech can easily lead to racial and religious conflicts among its people. Its government and more importantly its people and media, I feel, should thus adhere to social responsibility. Transfer of messages from one cultural context to another in our highly networked world can very quickly spark societical and political tensions and the power to transfer this messages lies in the media and quite significantly in the people. For instance, when the Danish and Norwiegian newspaper published provocative cartoons of Phrophet Muhammad, its only intention was to express its views. However, through through the spread of these messages that were greatly manupilated by the people, it sparked of demonstrations and economic boycotts of their products in the Middle East and rough relations between Christian and Muslim countries. Thus social responsibility should be adopted in Singapore. The media must realize that they alone do not create or determine the lifespan and outcomes of the mesages they publish. They must realize that once the messages are out in public, like Szilagyi said, they develop a life of their own and are subject to multiple interpretations and manupilations. Its people must also act responsibly and be aware of what they should express and what they should not. The government should also do what it can to ensure that the people and media express their views responsibly and can impose censorship on certain view that can threaten our country's stability.