A Brief Thought on the Current State of Free Speech in the West

As a writer, freedom of speech is of immense importance to me. I am one of those increasingly rare individuals who believes that all speech, be it written or spoken, should not only be openly permitted, but also vehemently encouraged and rabidly protected regardless of how offensive, untrue, or misguided some may deem those spoken or written words to be. 

I will not launch into a long-winded ode singing the praises of freedom of speech or list the many obvious reasons why people must have the right to say or write anything they damn well please. Instead, I will say only this - an infringement upon the right to speak freely is an infringement upon humanity. 

Having said this, I must admit that I find recent and current trends in the protection of free speech in the West quite alarming to say the least. Developments such as motion M103 and the possible legislation compelling the use of non-binary gender pronouns in Canada together with the frequently viotrolic SJW protests seeking to silence speakers at universities, the draconian censorship most Western European governments use to muffle their citizenry, and the creeping restrictions and bans levelled against dissident voices on social media, I offer the following postulation:

Free speech in the West is stuck between Islam and a safe space.