Freedom of expression matters! ... Sometimes...

In the last couple of days a news story has been circulating which outlines how a woman in Tasmania was fired from her job with Cricket Australia, due to having posted comments on Twitter which were critical of the Tasmanian government's position on abortion rights for women.

Whilst my view is pro-life, because I believe a new human life begins at conception.  I have been supportive of the backlash that cricket Australia is facing for having fired this woman for expressing her personal political view on her personal twitter account.  I believe that this woman's right to freedom of expression, specifically freedom of speech, has been violated and if it is not possible to get her job back, she should be adequately compensated. 

However something else has been bothering me about this news story.  In all of the coverage I have seen, there has been near universal condemnation of someone getting fired for merely expressing a personal political opinion.  This condemnation has been especially strong (as you may expect) from those who lean to the progressive side or the 'left', who as a general rule are supportive of the position the woman was advocating for - i.e. easy access to surgical abortion.

So what is the problem? What is bothering me? I am a supporter of freedom of expression, whether political, religious or otherwise, so what could possibly be the problem?

The problem is that when the exact same principle was in need of defending just a few months ago, the same people who are now crying from the roof tops for this woman's freedom of expression to be respected, were instead declaring that freedom of expression was irrelevant and calling for the scalp of Israel Folou.  

It seems that for many on the progressive left, fundamentals of our democracy like freedom of speech, expression and religion are only valuable and worth defending when they agree with the opinion being expressed... and that is frightening.

It is also frightening how many comments I have seen on social media defending this position.  So many people saying it is perfectly OK to only defend the freedoms of those you agree with and demand the humiliation, ridicule and firing of others.  The irony in these same people declaring anyone who disagrees with them to be a fascist is apparently lost on them.

Put simply freedom of expression and association matter.  Freedom of speech and freedom of religion matter.  Yes, that means the freedom of the people you disagree with matters! Yes it means even the freedom of those who say things you find offensive matters too! I fundamentally disagree with the view espoused by the woman who was fired by Cricket Australia - that doesn't mean I think she shouldn't be allowed to freely express her political viewpoint, without fear of losing her job or any other freedoms.  That is what living in a free and open society means - that is what living in a pluralistic society means.  

If we want to live in a free, open and pluralistic society, we must be consistent.  Freedom must be protected for all people, not just those we agree with. This is especially important for those of us who are Christians to remember.   If we want freedom of religion protected and freedom of speech and expression for ourselves we must be willing to stand with those we disagree with when those same freedoms are threatened for them. 

We must stand for justice and freedom, and we must do so impartially.  Please join me in praying for our nation.  Pray that we might live in a country that truly respects the individual freedoms we all so cherish, and allows genuine plurality to thrive.   

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