Speech Is Not Free

Speech is not free. In fact, it is very expensive. It is a builder and a destroyer. It is a train transporting the past into the present and the future. 

It is said that a dissident writer, at the border of the former Soviet Union, was asked if he had any dangerous weapons to declare: He handed them his pen. Speech, and its corollary writing, have great power.

The philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche said it most succinctly: “All I need is a sheet of paper and something to write with, and I can turn the world upside down.” In politics, British Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli declared that “with words we govern men.” 

Because words, written and spoken, have enormous impact and influence on individuals and on nations, they must be used with precision and accuracy. It would be impossible for one to pay too much attention to the words we employ.

That is why Jewish tradition has much to say about the power of words: “Death and life are in the power of the tongue” (Proverbs 18: 21). There are more commandments in the Torah in regard to speech than any other mitzvah: 17 negative and 14 positive mitzvos (Aish.com). Words as builder and destroyer are expressed in Proverbs 12: 18: “The words of the reckless pierce like swords, but the tongue of the wise brings healing.”

In the Torah, Creation occurs through utterances of God. He commands that there be light and His words result in physical reality, demonstrating the power of the word, a power that He bestows as a trust and an example to humanity. Humans, created in the image of God, have a share in that power. Only humans can express thoughts in words and to communicate. This is an awesome responsibility. 

Rabbi Eliezer Diamond writes that we have “the ability to speak of the past and future, the ability to imagine and conceptualize” and also to act on those thoughts and words. Thoughts, words and actions are inextricably linked. 

As a sacred trust and a powerful force, speech is crucial and fundamental to the smooth functioning of civilized society. The corruption of speech is profoundly destructive and harmful. For example, if Israel is called a “colonial implant” when it is, in fact, the homeland of perhaps the most indigenous group in any country in history, then that is a distortion and a dangerous inversion of history. If unintended, it is the deepest ignorance. If it is intentional, it is a despicable and unforgiveable lie.

If Israel is declared an “apartheid state,” when Israeli Arabs occupy seats in the Knesset and the Supreme Court and are doctors in Israeli hospitals, then the accusers do not know the meaning of the word “apartheid” and need instruction in the history of South Africa, or they are shamelessly using language as a weapon to slander and destroy.

If Israel is defamed as an oppressor by nations and groups that treat women as chattel, gays as disposable and dissent as fatal, their language has become irredeemably damaged and broken.

If Israel is defamed as an oppressor by nations and groups that treat women as chattel, gays as disposable and dissent as fatal, their language has become irredeemably damaged and broken.

In “Through the Looking Glass” (1871), Lewis Carrol’s Humpty Dumpty says: “When I use a word, it means what I choose it to mean—neither more nor less,” and Alice responds: “The question is whether you can make words mean so many things.”

 In her Oxford University Press blog, Lucy McDonald writes that “in the philosophy of language, Humpty Dumpty is held up as an example of how not to think about meaning. Contrary to his claim that the meaning of words is determined solely by his intentions, there is broad agreement that what words mean is not solely up to us. We can change their meanings over time but that requires a group effort, and something like a consensus.”

Speech is one of society’s most important assets. It shapes interpersonal relationships and has vital impact socially and politically. It is a sacred responsibility with vast consequences. It is not free, but it is an expression of freedom when used carefully, honestly and with precision. To debase language is to destroy the foundation of society because once it is destroyed we can no longer have discussions of difficult issues honestly and rationally. As Alice so wisely responded to Humpty Dumpty, we cannot make words mean so many things.

If we are to prevent society from breaking down further into tribal battlegrounds of “my truth” and “your truth,” one narrative pitted against another, then we must begin with the language we use. We need to be precise and exacting in our speech and writing, and call to account and apply the same standard to those with different views.

Dr. Paul Socken is Distinguished Professor Emeritus and founder of the Jewish Studies program at the University of Waterloo.