When we consider the societal value of a concept such as free expression, there is no right or wrong answer. Whether it’s public or personal would depend on who you ask. And, since you’re here, I’ll tell you what I think.

I believe that most of us would consider free expression a personal value, in that we all want and treasure the ability of expressing ourselves freely. However, I’d say the vast majority of us do not value free expression as a societal value. It can be hard to willingly listen to or try to understand someone else’s free expression when it directly counteracts what we believe in.

Considering Foucault’s concept of parrhesia takes this idea to the next level. He describes it as a form of speaking when a person openly expresses what they believe without trying to hide it. Or, in other words, free expression is not just having the ability to speak, but the ability to express what we actually think, or that the speaker “says everything he has in his mind.”

I think a really great example of this is LGBTQ+ rights. For those of us who identify as part of the community, it is very much a personal identity that is shared publicly. Who one loves or is attracted to is nobody’s business except for those involved, yet when we love someone we want to share that with the world. During Pride Month, we proudly, and publicly, express ourselves and what it means to be a part of this community. However, those who disagree are incredibly vocal. Even those in defiance may argue that they are allowed to share their opinions as a form of “free speech,” all the while penalizing those who they disagree with.

However, Teresa Bejan makes a distinction between parrhesia and isegoria that makes this much more complicated. While parrhesia is the ability to speak freely and openly, isegoria is about equality of speech. How can free expression be truly free if some people have more power to make their voices heard louder than others? We see this often in those in power, especially politicians, whose opinions are held in higher regard than others. Oftentimes, these minority views win through the power and authority held by the speaker.

I’ll use another example, you may know from my previous work that I was employed by Starbucks and was the union representative of my store. Despite the thousands of workers who, for years, have tirelessly fought for better working conditions and pay, are so easily disregarded by the select few that work in Starbucks HQ. A corporate worker creates a flyer “about” unions that dissuades thousands of partners from contributing or fighting for their rights.

We end up in a cycle. Take away the specifics of my examples and we see these trends repeatedly. When we choose to utilize our free expression, we will always be confronted by those who disagree with us or find fault in what we say, act, or believe. This garners attention, many times in the form of a vocal opponent who may argue that they are allowed to say whatever it is they disagree with. Or, they may take advantage of the power they hold in order to achieve whatever it is they want. When we see someone saying something we don’t believe in, we may feel the need to speak up against it, that it may be unfair or wrong for someone to share an opinion or belief that we wholeheartedly disagree with.

Although, I also think it’s important to consider who actually gets heard. Gayatri Spivak’s article Can the Subaltern Speak? shows that having the ability to speak doesn’t necessarily mean their voice will be heard, recognized, or understood. Power can influence whose voices are represented and whose are not.

At the end of the day, free expression is a personal value. We cannot value free expression as a society until we value one another and uplift the voices of those who struggle to be heard. Despite this, free expression is always worth protecting. Without it, we cannot vocalize, disagree, or agree with others. We cannot stand up for what we believe in or share what we love with others. Although we will not always agree, and our disagreements can easily evolve into something a bit more intense, it still remains an important aspect of how we communicate and interact with one another.