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Diversity and Freedom of Expression

Individuals should be free to express themselves however they wish. Through what they wear, what they think, and what they say. Freedom of expression is a crucial human right, and should be a fundamental part of any society. Yet many individuals cannot express themselves freely.

For diversity flourishes when individuals are free to express themselves. All humans are unique, and this uniqueness, when allowed to thrive, contributes greatly to society.

Hearing, seeing, and reading others’ thoughts and opinions will help us, as individuals, to better understand the world around us. This fuller understanding of the world and the people that inhabit it will undoubtedly help us to further understand our own lives. The human condition, as a whole, will improve once we start to fully accept the differences between us.

It is unnatural for us humans to be fearful of our own thoughts and opinions in our heads. There are an innumerable amount of ideas and opinions that have not been heard because of fear.

One individual that did not have this fear was Raif Badawi. He created a blog to foster political discourse among fellow Saudi’s. He wanted to get others involved in the process of thought and discussion.

And how did the Saudi Arabian government react to this? By sentencing him to ten years in prison and 1000 public lashes. It is disgusting that something as barbaric as lashing still happens around the world. The government, from extensive pressure from groups like Amnesty International, eventually dropped the lashes.

Now, more than ever, it is time for continued pressure. The lashes were dropped from the existence of pressure; imagine what more could be done.

People like Raif that are actively trying to promote freedom of expression where it is lacking. He was willing to do what he thought was right, regardless of the consequences. Raif is someone that we all should look to emulate.

As American citizens, we have it better than most when it comes to expressing ourselves. We should exercise this right, as often as we can, especially where our fellow man cannot. It is up to us call out human rights violations when others cannot.

I don’t agree with Raif’s sentence and how the Saudi government handles freedom of expression. Let’s use our own voices to talk about ways we can fix that.

-Written by Billy Shaber, member of Amnesty International at CMU

#freeraif #freedom of expression #amnestyusa

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