When Trump incited his followers before they attacked Congress, but claimed ”Free Speech’. Buddhist principles locate the limits of freedom in communication
As his impeachment proceeds, being banned from Twitter may seem the least of Donald Trump’s problems. But the decision denies the President access to almost 90 million followers and accompanies other moves to curtail social media access for both Trump and his most extreme followers.
It’s no surprise to hear protests that this infringes free speech but, in fact, free speech has never been an absolute right, even in democracies. There are laws against libel and incitement, which means encouraging others to commit a crime –the charge against Trump. And publishers and broadcasters have always controlled what’s said in their name.
Social media circumvents traditional controls, empowering virtually anyone to say whatever they want to a large audience without a filter. Trump’s prominence and outspokenness magnifies the effect, and the problems that have followed are forcing society to consider where we should locate the limits of acceptable communication, and who decides.
In thinking about this rather abstract question, I find it helpful to reflect on my experience of trying to communicate ethically in the light of Buddhist teachings. For Buddhists, ethical communication is a skill you need to learn, not a clearcut matter of right and wrong. It’s guided by four ‘speech precepts’: communicating in ways that are truthful, not false; kindly, not harsh; helpful, not frivolous; and conducive to harmony, not disharmony.
Balancing these isn’t straightforward. If you say to someone: ‘You’ve put on weight over Christmas’, that might be true, but it may not be kind and in my experience it probably won’t lead to harmony. Then again, it’s often important to speak a difficult truth, even if other people disagree or feel upset. I’ve learned that communicating skilfully means being honest with myself about my motives and reflecting on the likely consequences of my words.
As an old parable says, our words are like feathers thrown into the air in a busy market place: the breeze lifts them, they spread everywhere and we can never take them back. Modern communications, especially social media, turn the breeze into a hurricane, and we’re seeing how dangerous that can be. It drives people apart, and I think that, both individually and as a society, we badly need to encourage skilful communication that’s honest, kind, helpful and brings people together.
