Responsible Speech

At this point, it should not be a huge surprise that people disagree with you. The world of thought and opinion is as diverse as the people who hold onto those thoughts and opinions. Disagreement is something that you must deal with and be prepared for. Even your closest friends and family will have some disagreements with you. If you want to find and associate only with people who agree 100% with your opinions, look in the mirror. I hope you can stand the person looking back at you, because they will be your only friend if you can’t learn to disagree without being disagreeable.

This is an interesting time in our history in regards to freedom of speech. At no other time has it been easier to voice your opinion and be heard by so many people in such little time. Outlets like Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube have made amazing contributions to freedom of speech. However, they have also made us more lazy and oblivious to our responsibility of speech.

This past year, the movie American Sniper reached theaters. The movie is a biographical look at the experiences of Navy SEAL Chris Kyle during and after the Iraq War. He is credited as the most lethal sniper in U.S. military history. His story is as intriguing as it is polarizing. The subject of war is a contentious and emotional topic to discuss.  Staying true to form, this movie has produced heated discussions with Chris Kyle as the central controversial figure. In the minds of many, he has already been judged and convicted of some of the most heinous crimes imaginable. Consequently, he has collected a number of labels: warmonger, serial killer, coward, propagandist, instigator, child-killer, racist, and psychopath.

Critics of the movie further commented that the movie glorified warfare and vilified all Muslim people in a fashion akin to Nazi propaganda films. Emotionally distraught internet surfers flooded the web and made sure we all knew how disgusted and unsettled they were with the movie. Yes, freedom of speech was out in full force as it should be anytime something controversial like this comes out. But it seemed like responsibility of speech was again traipsed beneath the mob of public opinion.

“He murdered innocent women and children!” they shrieked.

“They glorified war to make it something it is not!”

“His desire to kill was fueled by racism!"

I am not sure which movie or book they read, but that is certainly not the message that I received. Perhaps if I were to watch it a few more times, I would see the grievances of the critics. I don’t think that would change my mind. In fact, it would likely solidify my feelings about the movie.  

This past year was a fascinating time to watch how free speech works and what it means to people. The Ferguson protests and the Charlie Hebdo massacre both had strong elements of free speech associated with them. In the aftermath of those events, and the American Sniper release, I have started to think more about the rights and responsibilities of free speech.

I believe that rights ought to be accompanied by a certain level of responsibility as well. It is commonplace that people focus too much on their rights and neglect to understand their responsibilities. It is your right to have the freedom of speech and expression. But you shouldn’t be quick to forget your responsibilities associated with that right.

You are the steward of your own words. The words you say are a pure indicator of the person that you are. They are the best representation, for better or worse, of your character. Therefore, you should own your speech. Put your face and name to what you say. This is the first responsibility of freedom of speech.

This is usually the first responsibility we neglect. Internet comment sections often turn into cesspools with equal parts ignorance and anonymity. Nameless accounts, secretive users, and pseudo-credentialed pundits own these dark corners of the web and they are the ones who drive the conversations. The exercise of speech rights is deservedly protected in these forums, but the responsibility of speech is non-existent element there.

A combat soldier faces bullets, shrapnel, and bombs in addition to hateful rhetoric with his name and rank proudly pinned to his breast. A soldier is accountable for his actions. He not only bears the flag of his country, but his own name as well. He faces antagonism and conflict with...get this… his face. He doesn’t hide in the shadows. In an ironic twist, the internet troll only has to face differing opinions from videos, blogs, and articles… and he does so behind the comforting fluorescent glow of his computer screen and his digital profile. These measures protect them from any legitimate criticisms or honest debate. They are a protection against responsibility.

Remember that the words that you use are your own, no matter how much you try to hide it. Words have power. Their influence can be applied towards good or evil. Your own words should mean something sacred to you. You ought to have enough pride and dignity to associate your own name and character to those words.

Chris Kyle

There was one nasty theme that seemed to thread through the commentary on Chris Kyle and American Sniper. I noticed several times a verbalized desire that Chris Kyle die a horrible death. Out of respect, I choose not to highlight the specifics of those comments. They are as graphic as they are vile and they should never be wished upon anybody.

What these people did not realize is that Chris Kyle did indeed die. He was gunned down by a fellow veteran who was struggling. Kyle often volunteered time to help combat veterans return to normality and overcome the emotional scars that war inflicted upon them. Kyle’s killer was one of those veterans who he tried to help. Kyle and a friend were fellowshipping and comforting the troubled soldier. In return for their fellowship, Kyle and his friend were shot and killed. He is survived by his wife and two young children. They now are facing the brunt of criticism that would be aimed at their husband and father.

Those people who wished for his death not only showed the status of their character, but they showed the level of their intelligence. This brings me to our second responsibility. Be informed and know the facts.

These people felt compelled to comment and say some very outlandish things. It takes minimal effort to point out that they had no clue what they were talking about. These are people who have made no attempt to watch American Sniper or read the book upon which the film is based. Instead, they opted for a more convenient flow of information in the form of tweets, blog posts, and skewed articles.

Do yourself a favor; don’t take twitter rants and Facebook updates as gospel. Unless you prefer to live in the land of gross omission, slanderous smearing, and handpicked generalizations, it is no place to create solid and informed opinions.

Look closely enough at most of these articles and you can find a variety of errors that disqualify them from any sort of journalistic integrity. People will claim to have the facts on their side by pointing at small snippets of carefully selected quotes. Then they twist them to fit their unchangeable world view. The problem with that strategy is that it exposes you as narrow-minded and downright dishonest. In an effort to paint the picture they want you to see, they choose to ignore context and willfully don’t show the whole picture. To do so would be a huge drawback. While it is inconvenient, providing context and analyzing facts is the responsible thing to do.

It is important to deal with the facts in these situations, and deal with them honestly. Some people will never do this. Arguing with them is like playing chess with a pigeon. All they will do is drop crap all over the board and then strut around like they have bested you anyways. Regardless of what other people do, your character is dependent on knowing the facts and dealing with realities. This is the second responsibility of speech.

Human beings do not like to be wrong. It makes us uncomfortable and compromises our standing among our peers. We fear being wrong because we perceive it as a weakness, and in some cases it is. We fear being wrong because we fear others will think we are ignorant. For some reason, we feel the need to be right and to know everything. We feel that if we don’t know something, others might value us less. But human beings have developed a unique strategy to combat our fear of not knowing. When we don’t know something, we just make it up.

Jimmy Kimmel does a fantastic skit titled Liewitness News. The skits demonstrate just how effective our "make things up" strategy works. He takes random people on the street and interviews them about preposterously fabricated current events. The results are as sad as they are hilarious.

In our sad attempt to not show our weaknesses, we end up showing something far far worse… our stupidity. This relates to the final responsibility of speech: don’t be afraid to say “I don’t know.”

We do not know all things. We cannot know all things. So rather than arrive at wild conclusions or depend on tertiary hearsay, just say, “I don’t know”.

Idealists and activists will quickly denigrate and castigate figures like Chris Kyle. Sitting from the comfort of their office chairs, they will say “I wouldn’t have done that” or “I wouldn’t have said this”. From the safety of their own homes or offices, they will gratuitously stake a claim upon the moral high ground. Yet they weren’t there. They don’t know the circumstances under which the events of American Sniper took place. They didn’t see their own friends and brothers become maimed and killed. They didn’t experience the fear of fighting an enemy willing to strap bombs to children and women. They didn’t experience the immense pressure of making split second decisions that would save or sacrifice lives. They didn’t have to fight the guilt of leaving others behind to finish a job that they couldn’t finish. In essence, they just don’t know.

As I said, it is not something that is easy to say. But if you do, you will save yourself from embarrassment and earn yourself some respect. That doesn’t mean that you will never know or that no one knows. There were people who were there. There are primary eye witnesses who can attest to the veracity of those events. But if you don’t know, there is no shame in admitting it.

Be responsible with your right to free speech. Own your words. Be informed and get the facts. Don’t be ashamed to say “I don’t know”.

I am thankful for the rights that we enjoy; rights which have been secured and preserved through the efforts of brave men and women in military uniform. We have the privilege of being related to some of these brave people. One of them was also a veteran sniper who served in the Gulf War. Among these rights, the right to freedom of speech is one of the most sacred. Speech is something that should not be stifled or silenced simply because we disagree. However, I feel that we have a responsibility that is as equally important as that right.