The Importance of Free Speech & Freedom of Religion

Acceptance is a pillar of wisdom. With acceptance, we’re given space: Be yourself. Wounds heal out loud ~ Announce your discoveries ~ Live in your differences ~ There’s no rehearsal for this life. The great rights of free speech and freedom of religion are a socially accepted basis for acceptance and tolerance. From here, from this open place, we can all share so much! What a gift it is to be able to give! Here in the United States, we can raise our hearts and voices for the rest of the world, which, in so many ways, still has so much less! ~ What will we do with our freedom today?

Thanks to Wikipedia, here is an idea of the world situation when it comes to these basic inherent rights:

What’s the story of Free Speech in Africa?

“The replacement of authoritarian regimes in Kenya and Ghana has substantially improved the situation in those countries. On the other hand, Eritrea allows no independent media and uses draft evasion as a pretext to crack down on any dissent, spoken or otherwise. One of the poorest and smallest nations in Africa, Eritrea is now the largest prison for journalists; since 2001, fourteen journalists have been imprisoned in unknown places without a trial. Sudan, Libya, and Equatorial Guinea also have repressive laws and practices.”

And the story in Asia?

“Several Asian countries provide formal legal guarantees of freedom of speech to their citizens. These are not, however, implemented in practice in most places. Countries such as Vietnam, Myanmar, Singapore, North Korea and Central Asian Republics like Turkmenistan brutally repress freedom of speech. Freedom of speech has improved in the People’s Republic of China in recent years, but the level of free expression is still far from that of Western nations.”

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What about Freedom of Religion?

“According to the results of a comprehensive Dec. 09 study, about one-third of the countries in the world have high or very high restrictions on religion, and nearly 70 percent of the world’s population lives in countries with heavy restrictions on freedom of religion. This concerns restrictions on religion originating from both national authorities and social hostilities undertaken by private individuals, organisations and social groups. Government restrictions included constitutional limitations or other prohibitions on free speech.

The countries of North and South America reportedly had some of the lowest levels of government and social restrictions on religion, while The Middle East and North Africa were the regions with the highest. Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Iran were the countries that top the list of countries with the overall highest levels of restriction on religion.

Of the world’s 25 most populous countries, Iran, Egypt, Indonesia, Pakistan and India had the most restrictions, while Brazil, Japan, the United States, Italy, South Africa and the United Kingdom had some of the lowest levels.”

So with this new year approaching, I ask you to share yourself courageously with the world. It will brighten your heart, transform your soul, and release the fearful reigns of the mind.

I heard this recently – here it is: The most important thing in life is to learn how to give out love, and to let it come in. His voice dropped to a whisper. “Let it come in. We think we don’t deserve love, we think if we let it in we’ll become too soft. But a wise man named Levine said it right. He said, ‘Love is the only rational act.’”

~ Roger Ingraham