Singapore, a multi-racial society, consists of cultural and religious pluralism. In the past, nobody would have believed that different races will be able to stay in harmony with each other due to lack of communication and cultural differences etc. Initially, Singapore did experience some difficulties and racial riots occurred. But with extra effort put in by the government, as well as the citizens, Singapore has made it possible for cohesion of different races to live peaceful and harmonious lives. Unite of all races is the key to success of building Singapore. Social responsibility should be taken upon all citizens to stay united as a country. Any form of threats (freedom of speech) that may disturb our harmony should not be adopted. Therefore, I think that Szilagyi’s view should be adopted instead.
As what Szilagyi have said, once messages are out in the public, they develop a life of their own and become subject to multiple interpretations. Misinterpretation of message is undeniable if the message did not come across clearly. Singapore has made it clear that all races are equal; hence all citizens are treated equally despite of their races. Through education and our daily interactions with other races, we have learnt to accept and respect each other’s disparity in perspectives and cultures. Hence freedom of speech will spoil all our hard work by producing such messages that cause misunderstanding among us and cause divergence of Singaporeans.
No doubt Singapore is a democratic country and according to Singer, in such countries, freedom of speech must be included so as to voice out what everyone else believes to be false and even what many people find offensive. I agree that freedom of speech do give us a chance to voice out what we think and speak out our views, which is a benefit citizens in a democratic country should enjoy. But I feel that everyone has to be liable for what they say and what they do so as to be a responsible citizen. Hence, there should be some limitation to this benefit ie. If we know that our speech will cause tension in the relationship between citizens of the same country, we should not say such things.
In conclusion, our freedom of speech should be limited to the extent whereby to protect our peace and harmony among the races. At the same time, it is important for all citizens to understand the importance of social responsibility. This is essential for Singapore, a country made up of many different races, to stay united and continue to progress.
