Quote:
Originally Posted by Oriphiel
America is pretty much identical to the Roman Republic. The rich get richer, and if you upset them they can very easily make you disappear. I'm not saying that justice is for hire, but the rich and powerful definitely have enough pull to get away with most anything they want. But people in Ancient Rome were technically protected by the law to be able to say what they wanted to say, except in cases of treason (which is still something you can be accused of in America, though it isn't often) and slander/libel.
As for sources, this is a good article that goes into the history of "Freedom of Speech" in different countries: 2. Free speech in history |
Greco-Roman freedoms were by no means perfect and always protected, but the ideal was there. |
fair enough, i honestly knew that democracy had its roots in greece and rome but i never thought much about freedom of speech. but i think we got a bit sidetracked from my initial point which was that free speech is hardly a universal value and if anything hasn't been the norm in most societies. and probably isn't in a lot of modern societies... i also come at this with the interpretation that even genuinely protecting free speech in the united states is fairly recent. even if it was written into the constitution. dissident speech could land you in prison during ww1. i think the level of free speech we have in unite states today is beyond that of ancient rome, greece and even the previous united states. so i really do think we're treading into new territory here