is freedom of speech necessary in a free society

Freedom of speech is the freedom of people to voice out their opinion or to communicate an idea publicly without being legally punished. while some believe that such freedom is our right, others argue that absolute freedom might pose a threat to national security. In my opinion, such freedom of speech should be protected in all except for extreme cases.

in a democratic society, it is important for the government to listen to the voices of the people and in order to do that each citizen should be given the freedom of speech. i believe that people with extreme intellectual when given this opportunity, would contribute to national development. when human rights are denied and when people are not given the chance to speak up against themselves or express their opinion, this could limit the room for improvement. how can a country improve if there is only one dictator giving opinion and this opinion overrules every other people's opinion.

however, if such freedom of speech is abused, it could pose a threat to national security. an example of such negative impact is racism remarks in a multiracial country. civil war especially between human with different race often happen when people start giving opinion about other people's race and religion which in my opinion is not only a sign of disrespect, it doesn't bring any contribution to a country's development

in conclusion, freedom of speech is a right and should not be denied however, it is important that we do not abuse such right given to us.