Â鶹Éç

The incendiary views Charlie Kirk expressed on race, gender, trans rights and much else, make it hard to reflect dispassionately on his underlying philosophy, especially in the wake of his assassination last week. But I want to try to explore his position on free speech.

Kirk opposed any attempts to control or regulate what can and can’t be said on college campuses, social media platforms and elsewhere. True to his principles, he debated his opponents, and that’s what he was doing at Utah Valley University when he was shot. It’s no surprise that Donald Trump called him ‘a martyr for free speech and truth.’

Perhaps no-one, Kirk included, really believes in completely unrestricted freedom to say whatever we want. That would mean legalising fraud, forgiving perjury and letting people shout ‘fire’ in crowded theatres. But regulating speech is tricky. Who decides, and on what basis?

Buddhist teachings alert me not just to our words but to their context. We think we know the truth, but our perceptions of the world are filtered through our beliefs and biases. On a meditation retreat last week, I recognised (once again) that my mind was full of things I thought needed to be done urgently. It’s uncomfortable to feel that without being able to act; but that’s the point. I eventually sensed what lay behind my thoughts – anxiety. And I saw how the stories my anxiety generated prevented me from experiencing the feeling itself.

That’s a microcosm of the basic Buddhist insight: our thoughts make the world, as we experience it. We form our beliefs from a sifted, partial slice of our perceptions, and then we look for ways to confirm them. Extending that to modern culture, we could call consciousness the original filter bubble. Social media simply magnifies our innate human tendencies, and then siloes us within the competing realities they create.

I think free speech becomes a problem when it’s coupled with undue certainty. Getting to the truth requires a degree of humility. The first Buddhist speech precept asks me to speak the truth; but further precepts ask me to speak in ways that are kind, helpful and conducive to harmony. The last is especially important. It means holding our beliefs lightly, being willing to listen, and recognising whether our words bring people together or drive them apart. Whatever rights we may possess, I think that's a duty.

Show less