mr dave

I think it boils down to a difference between talking at and speaking with.

Believe me, learning how to bite your tongue and say what the other person wants/expects to hear will generally provide significantly better results than just saying what you want because you can. It's not censorship, it's diplomacy.

The biggest hassle I see with freedom of expression is that a lot of people seem to want that freedom for themselves first and foremost and expect everyone else to adapt accordingly without really wanting to provide the same respect in the other direction. Is freedom something you're entitled to? Or something you provide to everyone around you?

As for the decline in 'proper debate' I think that has more to do with an increased respect towards other ideologies. Classic debates seem to be about objectively proving one side to be right or wrong, which just seems absurd to me if you're honestly respectful of the other side's freedom of thought.

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