The Freedom to Speak

By Heidi Harris
LONDON--

Today we travelled to Hyde Park for the spectacle that is Speakers' Corner. Traditionally, Speakers' Corner is an area where open debate is permitted at all times. Unlike the United States, in the United Kingdom speakers must get approval to demonstrate their opinions in a public place. After learning a little bit about what these "demonstrations" include I was very hesitant to engage myself.

My previous experience with public demonstrators has left a bad taste in my mouth. For instance it is not uncommon to hear on the campus of Washington State University yelling activists argue their unpopular or slightly different beliefs. This always makes me feel extremely uncomfortable because they typically exercise their first amendment right at the personal expense of those who don't think and believe like they do. Even with these impressions, I joined each of the circles not knowing exactly what to expect.

Speakers' Corner

Each of the demonstrators represented a different philosophical, geopolitical, and religious belief. People listening to these demonstrators were from every different belief system in the world, with varying opinions, and questions they hoped to have answered. The first presenter I listened to was discussing his Jewish faith and why he believed it to be the absolute truth. As my eyes began to glaze over, and I began to feel like a turtle going into my shell I heard a man in the audience yell "Jews killed Jesus, we should hate them for what they have done." For a split moment I thought about letting his comment go unnoticed, but I couldn't get past his hateful words and generalizations about all Jewish people.

 Hating an entire people group because of what you believe they did is what causes war and violence. After speaking with him for a while, I began to understand the importance of the corner. By tradition, Speakers' Corner began to see it's first debates in the mid eighteen hundreds, and thousands of debates have occurred since. and I was apart of this legacy. The right to gather, bring up tough questions, and share your opinion should never be taken lightly. I never came to an agreement with the man I was speaking with, and I don't believe that he truly listened to what I had to say, but I said it. I didn't let the fear of disagreement or heated discussion keep me from speaking

Other presenters