I would like to talk about the power that our voices have and the impact that our words have on others.

Freedom of speech is an interesting concept. In many ways, it is an amazing tool that we as humans have and it is also a basic human right to be able to express our own opinions. The definition of freedom of speech is the right to express one’s opinions without censorship, restraint, or legal penalty. But the line of what is okay to say and what is not is often blurred. Although we can say or post online anything we want without censorship, restraint, or legal penalty this does not mean our words have no consequences or that one can do so without a level of responsibility. Words impact upon others and often if the impact is big enough, positive or negative, these words do not fade and can stay with someone for a long period of time. Free speech gives one the right to say whatever they think but it does not free us from the consequences of what we say. And this is an incredibly important thing to remember. As in today's society, we have a much bigger platform to express our opinions as we have social media.

Not all of us have the confidence or feel the need to express our opinions to the world but a lot of people do which is great but this is not always the case. What worries me is the abuse of freedom of speech that we are seeing in the media. When people abuse their freedom of speech their words often start to look like hate speech. This is abusive or threatening speech or writing that expresses prejudice against a particular group, especially on the basis of race, religion, or sexual orientation. Unfortunately hate speech has almost become the norm in the media now as we are always seeing cyberbullying, hateful comments and disrespectful posts online. Because we are so easily able to hide behind our phone screens I think that we often forget that what they are saying online still has as much impact and maybe even more than if you were to say it to someone's face. I’m sure we have all heard about the hundreds of tweets from Donald trump that disrespect other races, sex, and people’s place of origin on the daily. A lot of Trump's tweets I think can be safely categorised into hate speech.

I’m sure we have all said something to another that we regret. But the important thing is that we recognise when have said something wrong and think about the consequences of our words before we speak. As we need to make sure that what we are saying is not inflaming the hateful behaviour that we are seeing so often in the media. All it takes to prevent hate speech is to think about the consequences of what we are saying before we speak. We all make mistakes but we have to own them and learn from them. Trump, unfortunately, has a huge platform and amount of followers and is able to easily insult an enormous number of people but in a sense, he is no worse than what some individuals are capable of saying every day. Theodore Melfi puts this perfectly when he says “That prejudice is often not malicious, just a habit.” He is saying that although none of us set out to be malicious with our words we need to consciously think about what we are saying so that we don’t unconsciously make hate speech a habit.

However, freedom of speech does not always end up as hate speech and can be and should be used in a positive way. As mentioned earlier, there are a lot of people like us that either don’t have the confidence or feel the need to speak up and question the importance of their voice. Because of this view, I think we often believe that or voices won’t be heard and forget the potential that we as individuals have to change the world for better or worse. No matter our platform our voice is still valid. American writer, feminist, librarian, and civil rights activist Audre Lorde said, “When we speak we are afraid our words will not be heard or welcomed. But when we are silent, we are still afraid. So it is better to speak.” We need to remember that our voices matter and that it doesn’t matter the number of people that are listening. Whether we are speaking in front of a thousand, hundred, or just a few friends our voices still have the power to impact others. So we all need to take a stand against people who misuse their freedom of speech and show them how it is done.

What's even more important about our opinions is that we are the future generation and it is up to us to shape the future. Recently Children's Commissioner Judge Andrew Becroft is urging for the voting age in New Zealand to lower to 16. I couldn’t agree more with this movement as I think it is incredibly important for the younger generations voices to be heard in matters that affect our planet's future. By lowering the voting age New Zealand is empowering more young kiwis and giving them a new platform to speak from.

We need to utilize this amazing tool we have as we not only can change the way we feel but others around us. On average girls speak more than 13,000 words a day. It’s our responsibility to make sure that the consequences of what we say leave a positive impression on the world. So that people around us are empowered. So let's use our voices to project words that are thoughtful and kind. Because words do not fade.

Thank you