PERSPECTIVES
The Michigan Daily
Thursday, March 23, 1989
Page 5
Free
expression:
Must
be
defended
BY VERA SONGWE
The earth beneath my feet gave
way and into a new society I was
'born. A society where freedom was
the most treasured and valued luxury.
I had known freedom before but with
it I thought was the need to
comprehend the desires of my
neighbors. The freedom I talk of now
seemed to be rid of this.
was so scared and so alone at the
time. To me I was seated on an
electric chair waiting for an execution
and nobody but he and I knew what
was going on.
Noticing how tense I was, he
walked up to me and said, "Relax,
I'm not going to kill you." That was
far from my mind though when he
introduced himself to me as "The
'We should dare to exercise our freedom to its full
and be prepared to be accountable to it, leaving
insinuations to the authors of fiction.'
And in the privacy of your mind,
you wish you could tell someone or
most of all talk to the person
responsible but they are not there any
more or you just can't go through
with it.
Once again, I began thinking of
the word freedom. This person had
the freedom to wear and express
himself the way he wanted to and
society could not stop him from
doing so. But should he not be
accountable to society for the
freedom he has been generously
given?
His presence hindered my
performance and my freedom. I might
have been able to make a
contribution to society which would
have been beneficial to all. While
this individual was exercising his
rights to free expression, I could not.
We have so much trust in freedom
we limit ourselves and many other
people from learning and
understanding more about new
things.
"I have a right to believe what I
decide to believe," is one of the
clich6s born from our desire to
blindly safeguard what we believe to
be our freedoms. This leaves us
ignorant and unaccountable for many
of our actions. In this country,
people pay a price for everything that
they have, and can justify their
desires to utilize them.
If each individual was made
accountable for their committed acts,
then that would emphasize unlimited
freedom and the prospects of having a
society where people respected the
needs and desires of others. We
should dare to exercise our freedom to
its full and be prepared to be
accountable to it, leaving
insinuations to the authors of fiction.
And maybe then, I would have the
courage next time to ask my friend to
take off his mask and show me who
it was I had the pleasure and fear of
. ,
'
r
r.
I
introducing myself to.
If you want to call me anything,
say it to my face. Then, I would
know who you are and we would be
able to maintain something of you
that is very vital, especially to
me...your indentity.
MQUL
t
., ,
K '
I was seated in a room where
everybody else was of a different race
but I. My presence was acknowledged
by all.
Then, from the hall way I saw a
figure approaching. He was dressed in
an all black attire and had blonde
hair. Normal description of what I
see every day, but he was different.
He also had on a white mask and all
of his face that was visible...was his
eyes. They might have been lovely
otherwise but now they seemed
vicious cold and calculating.
There were 25 other people in the
room with me I found out later, but I
Grim Reaper."
As he extened his hand, you could
have imagined how I felt. I had no
choice but to shake his hand. I
couldn't believe that no one else
seemed to notice what his presence
meant. Things continued as usual. I
was confused. I wonder what anyone
else would have done.
Situations like the- one above
happen to many people everyday.
You read a book that someone else
may not think is offensive, but you
do. You see a sign somewhere that
no one else thinks is offensive, but
you do.
V/OTE oef Voe Ail!
T
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A M E R I C A S C O L L E G E R I N G'T
Stop by and see a Jostens representative,
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