I am truly honoured and humbled to be invited to speak at this fantastic event with so many remarkable people whom I truly admire. But it is also a daunting task. We live in a world where peaceful Syrian protestors are killed, Chinese dissidents are imprisoned and North Koreans are not allowed to own books. And so it might seem misplaced that a spoiled kid from cozy liberal Denmark should discuss freedom of expression in democratic Europe where political discussion is generally free.
But even in Europe free speech is under pressure, and increasingly so.Whereas closed societies restrict freedom of expression to prevent democracy, European states do so in order to protect democracy, whether against terrorism or against intolerance, through anti-hate speech laws. But it is my argument that good intentions are insufficient to justify restrictions on freedom of expression, which is the most important weapon in the defense of all other freedoms.
...
The United States is the only Western country where freedom of expression protects hate speech. This has not coincided with an increase in racism. Quite the contrary.In 1958, only 4% of Americans were accepting of interracial marriages. Today the number is almost 80%. In 1963 the Supreme Court had to strike down a law that prohibited white Virginians from entering mixed marriages. In 2008, a majority of Virginians – and indeed all Americans - voted for a presidential candidate born out of a mixed marriage. The lessons of America’s First Amendment shows that free speech is the midwife not the enemy of a peaceful multi ethnic society.
