Freedom of Speech?

I blogged the other day about 'Free Speech' and how awesome it is. It it truly wonderfull. Think where we'd be without it.

But really, how free is our speech? Do we really feel as though we have the ability to articulate our opinions? I know there have been occasions when I haven't blogged about issues because I wonder, 'what will my work colleagues think about that?' As a result I'm in the bizarre situation of not posting on my own personal blog because I'm scared of what other people might be thinking. Which on one hand is ridiculous. If I'm confident in my own opinion and as free as the media tells me I am, I should be free to express myself. But on the other hand this is just common sense. I shouldn't blog anything that I wouldn't happily distribute in public.

I'm also a Christian, and many times in Christian circles I haven't spoken my true thoughts because I may be seen as some kind of un-godly heretic. Here, I'm in the situation where because of Jesus I'm 'free indeed'. Unless I want to express that freedom.

I got thinking about this while reading about an application that manages Facebook & Twitter. The speak of a 'personal brand' is strange to me. As though I'm some sort of product wanting to market myself. Yet, that is exactly why I don't always speak my mind at church, or work or with family or anywhere. Because of some personal fear or want of career advancement or some other personal agenda.

We all say we are free, yet we are all entrapped by our own agendas and fears. This is not the sort of person I want to be. I want to be honest, but not in an 'in your face' way. Gaining the courage to be authentic will take time.

Throught for the evening...

I was predestined to choose to make this post. You chose but were pre-destined to read it.

Unwanted Education

I'm part of the problem,
I confess,
But I gotta get this off my chest.

Let's extinguish the anguish
for which we're to blame,
and save the world
from going down in flames.
- Down in Flames, Relient K

Until recently I didn't understand how big fights and splits could happen in churches. It seems that I've been educated. How do you resolve such differences? How does God see these differences?

I know that in my particular case, both sides of the dis-agreement prayed for resolution. As far as I'm aware, both sides even prayed for conviction if what they where saying wasn't what God would want. Yet despite this prayer and many hours of face-to-face conversation a resolution could not be found. All we managed to do was barely 'agree-to-disagree'. Agreeing to disagree is fine if discussing politics or football, but in situations that are closer to home it doesn't solve anything.

Taking a step back from the situation, clearly one or both parties are acting in a way that isn't Godly. Clearly after prayer and discussion neither party believed that it was them. This has been taking up alot of my thinking time recently. Can good come out of these situations where no-one wins?