Racial Harmony Day blog assignment

I think Szilagyi’s view should be adopted in a multi-racial Singapore. With several different races living together in one small island, it is of utmost importance that we pay due respect to each individual race hence avoiding superfluous conflicts from arising. Taking into account the 1964 race riots that occurred in Singapore, we have a clear idea of what racial insensitivities could do to sabotage the peace and harmony enjoyed by the society. The massive killings and destruction brought about by such racial strife will have huge negative impact on the society as a whole. Loss of man-hours as a result of work stoppages, deaths of able-bodied dexterous workers etc will cause the economy to plummet severely. Freedom of speech should be limited and restricted to the point where race and religion matters are concerned. The thought of engaging in a racial conflict is unthinkable. Singaporeans should be mindful of the repercussions of their actions especially so when it is played upon racial lines.

Social responsibility should be prioritized ahead of freedom of speech. Such as in the case of the provocative cartoons depicting Prophet Muhammad, when there is freedom of speech, people tend not to take into account the consequences of their actions, leading to social unrest and huge controversy surrounding it. Should such cartoons have been banned earlier on and not been published, tension would not have been sparked off between the Middle East and the Danes and Norwegians. Certainly, freedom of speech is vital to the normal functioning of a democratic country. Without it, the country would be like under the control of a totalitarian or even like that of communism. However, freedom of speech must be used with control. Devoid of mindful usage of it, it could turn out into becoming a blunt weapon, stirring up gratuitous trouble like in the case of the cartoons depicting Prophet Muhammad.