MANUSCRIPT SPEECH
While thinking what will be my topic to make a speech, my sister suddenly talk
something about a comment she read in a Facebook post. She read it aloud for me to hear
and we both thought that the comment is irrelevant, mean, and hateful to people in the
said post. That is when I decided to talk about freedom of speech, its limitation and the
responsibilities of using this right to speak.
The freedom of speech is the people’s rights to express opinions publicly but it
doesn’t mean that we can say whatever we want to say. Usage of this right in a wrong
way may result to a legal consequence. Also, applying this right in every opinion you say
is not always good. Why, because as what I said a while ago, we cannot say something
whatever and whenever we want to. Different cases arise relating to misusing of this
freedom, like libel, defamation, and so on simply because sometimes, what’s true to us
may not be true to others. What is right for them might not be right for us. I think the
most reason why people argue online is because of not all of them is open for other’s
viewpoint. One person will honestly comment his own perception about a certain issue
and the other will reply invalidating the first person’s opinion because he believes
otherwise. In fact some people end up saying inappropriate and unrelated things from
what topic they start arguing about and the ending, meaningless conversation. It is pretty
obvious. One simple comment has a large chance of misunderstandings. They could have
had sharing of different knowledge or ideas about the issue than throwing off harsh and
offensive words to each other.
When you learn to speak to what you believe is right, you should also learn to be
responsible and liable to everything you say in public. You should be aware that not
everyone would accept your opinion but you have to be open and respectful to other’s
opinion too. You should be mindful choosing the words, tone, and the content of your
comment to minimize misunderstandings about what you are really trying to express.
We can say what we believe in without rejecting others. If you have proven evidence that
what they said is wrong, you can say it in a good way and cite your proof to support your
claims. Should they choose not to believe you? It’s their loss not yours. The important is
you should also be open to a healthy argument or conversation. It is also a good source
of learning.
It is great to have an opportunity to make this speech to speak and share to you
my thoughts about my chosen topic. I believe it is also timely, especially now in the new
normal where every social media flat form is being used to express personal opinions
about certain issues in the country. I also believe that we should involve ourselves in the
discussion and practice our rights to speak but let’s all be reminded that there is always
a limit. We can practice our rights without hurting others, we can speak without insulting
others, and we can give comments without violating their own rights.
We all have the chance to say our own point-of-view. Let’s respect each other’s
opinion. Let’s practice our freedom of speech responsibly. Thank you.