WHEN John Milton bowed down before English parliament in 1644, his word's rung true.

"Give me the liberty to know, to utter, and to argue freely according to conscience, above all liberties."

It's a pity that many of us, myself included, have learnt about freedom of speech in small sound bytes from history.

The quintessential core of Western society, the right that you shall have free speech and you shall not be bullied into silence, is not taught in schools or universities - to shame.

And now it is being quietly forgotten.

Do you think we live in a society where freedom of speech is dying? Have your say below. 

There is talk that free speech must be limited, without the argument that limits on something free makes it expensive.

Enter the era where 'safety concerns' silence anti-Establishment speech, where self-censorship stops the legitimate critiquing of ideas and where those with hurt feelings, but no truth or reason to their name, can simply shut down the debate.

How refreshing to walk into the Hervey Bay Library where freedom of speech is enshrined in the freedom to read.

The banned books exhibit reminds us that if we don't rally against censorship, the ability to speak and write our minds will be taken away.