The media has been abuzz with discussion of the National School Pledge. The expressed sentiments include the divisiveness of the first stanza, cries of “indoctrination”, and the hypocrisy of a government suffering from high levels of corruption wanting to enforce this pledge before cleaning up its own act.

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Yet relatively little attention has been paid to the Bill of Responsibilities that preceded the Department of Education’s announcement of the pledge. Or did no-one notice that this bill redefines “free expression” to “ensure others are not insulted or have their feelings hurt”?

rnrn

Um, what? I’m pretty sure the Wikipedia entry on Free Speech doesn’t say “unless you hurt someone’s feelings”. And last time I checked the the Universal Declaration of Human Rights the signatory nations hadn’t appended “as long as you don’t hurt their feelings” onto Article 19: Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.

rnrn

In fact the sole purpose of free expression is to ensure that you have a right to express an opinion without fear of censure by an individual, group or organisation who doesn’t like what you are saying.

rnrn

To be fair the Bill of Responsibilities is a sorely needed part of education – both for children and adults – and the version released by the DoE is in general a well considered and balanced document. But freedom of expression is a cornerstone of a democratic society and its value and limits need to be taught accurately.

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