What will you choose: money or freedom of expression?

Hi Dragon, in all practicality, nobody has the absolute freedom to do what they want, and say what they want. Even if your friends have very bad taste in dressing, you do not have the freedom to tell them off. You will lose the friendship! The difference between the rich and the poor is that people pay attention to what the rich say. Even if we are very unhappy with the current situation, eg escalating oil price, we can spend the whole day ranting, and nobody pays attention to us. I think in all practicality, having money comes first, because money can bring more freedom of expression, and more power to make things happen.

Hi Dragon54u, actually we have many kinds of freedom here that is not available in many parts of the world. For example, many shops and supermarkets open 24 hours. That means we can just wear a T-shirt, slipper, and jeans in the middle of the night just to get our supper. Over here, it is so safe in the wee hours of the morning. I think that is the freedom that many people in the developed countries do not enjoy. They live in high crime areas. Even if their part of the town is relatively safe, it is still not safe to venture out. However, when it comes to freedom of expression, we tend to take another approach. Instead of talking bad about the government failure to do this or that, we prefer to make suggestions. No point complaining about a problem that has no solution. Over here, we do not have a labor strike over 20 years. It is unlikely that we will go to strike too. We do not need that kind of freedom to protest. Similarly our young people value money more than the freedom of expression, simply because words are empty, while money can make their dreams come true. If ever we face with a corrupted government, we will use all our resources to pull down the government.

Hi ParaTed2k, most of us never been in such dire situation. it is hard to imagine that toilet paper is more important than money. I think in many countries, money is the deciding factor for freedom of speech or expression. Most people will rather keep their money, than to lose it by talking against the governments.

thank you and I respect your opinion scheng.. and I believe it's true. True that most of people are driven more by money it is because of our basic needs to survive. However, let us not forget the needs for us to develop or what we called physiological needs. Freedom is one of it. We need money and freedom both. So all we can do is your wise decisions in certain matters. We can choose money or freedom from what is needed or priority at the moment.

Hi BabyEj, if you compare the governments in many Asian countries and Singapore, you will notice a vast difference. Singapore government is very clean, as in zero tolerance for corruption. Over here, if you give $100 to the traffic police, hoping that he will let you go instead of issuing a traffic ticket. What do you think will happen? The traffic police will report you for offering bribe. In the end, you will have to face a charge of corruption, and a traffic ticket. When our former Prime Minister justified the high salary for civil servants, he mentioned that high pay reduced corruption. Without a corrupted government, we enjoy security in the country. Crime rate is very low. We can step out of the house after midnight just to go supermarket and buy a packet of instant noodle. The whole issue is money. Money does buy many kinds of freedom, even the integrity of the civil servants as a whole.

Hi Yugasini, I like to have both freedom and money at the same time. If really need to choose between the two, I rather have money, since money can bring freedom in many things. With money, we can choose to stay in other countries, buy a few houses, and help the poor people. Without money, freedom is nothing. Even if the poor people complain and complain, and are at risk of dying of hunger, nobody cares. If the rich people make a statement, everyone listens.

Hi Chocl8starfish, I agree with you. I would choose money over freedom as well. Money buys more than just freedom of speech. Money can buy all other important things in life. If we do not even have a roof over our heads, and our families have to go hungry. Nobody bothers to listen to us. If we are rich and powerful, with powerful friends, then we have the power to make noise and get things done.

Hi, in this case, I tend to disagree with you. Money can buy more freedom of expression. The most important thing is that powerful persons listen to the rich people. If a stretch of road is very badly damaged, and all the poor people complain, nobody is going to do anything. If a rich person makes a complain to the powerful person in the government, things get done. The only time when freedom of expression can bring changes is when all the people in the country are united. The cases of Libya and Egypt are good examples. That happens probably once in a hundred years.

Hi Martinnshann, I would choose money too. Those rich people just need to make a call to the powerful person, complain for a minute, and then things change. Those poor people can make noise the whole day, and nobody is going to pay attention to them. I think the reality is that the more money we have, the more freedom of expression we have.

Hi Rock, I agree with your viewpoint. I would choose money too. I think in many cases, money can buy privilege, as well as freedom. At the very least, money does bring financial freedom. With financial freedom, we have more choices in life, such as eating good food, travelling when we want to, and living in the area that we like, rather than worrying all the time about paying mortgage and keeping the miserable rundown house.

Hi Bobmnu, I really cannot imagine living in a country that prohibits the freedom of expression completely. Even in China, there is a certain level of freedom of expression. Those who can use the Internet are using it to express their anger against the corrupted government officers. The situation worries the China government, so much so that it has to hire people to defend the actions of the government. I heard that the rate is a cent for a post or two posts in forum. However, if asking them to choose between freedom of expression or money, I think most will choose money. With money, especially the kind of money that billionaires have, it does buy more freedom of expression.

Hi Busybee, I would have chosen money too. Those rich people really have more freedom of speech than the rest of us. Even if they were sued for libel, they can afford to pay off. For us, if we say something wrong, and people sue us, we might need to sell our house and other possessions.

Hi Chinchoy, the issue of Wikileak is very controversial. While most people like the exposure of bad decisions by the governments, not many people like to see people die because of it. If only Wikileak can expose the bad decisions of bad dictators too, that will be a blessing. I think the people in my country are really more concerned with bread and butter issue. Most of us here tend to think long term. Even those in their 20s worry about retirement needs.

Hi Heavenrenz, I would have chosen money if I see arrogant and rich people bully the poor people. If they can use their money to make the poor people shut up, I can use money to provide more access for people to express their grievances. I think if money is used properly, it helps more people to have freedom of speech, and opinion.