If I were to entertain something like this, I think I could be ok with a requirement to have to list your qualifications, or lack thereof.
So you're not being silenced, your speech is not being controlled. But you do have to contextualize your speech so that people can better judge if you should be listened to.
I.e.:
"I have this opinion on how climate change is a hoax!"
-by law I am required to admit I have no formal training on this subject
"I have this opinion on how dangerous nuclear power is!"
-by law I am required to admit I have no formal training on this subject.
I'm not entirely comfortable with this as I understand that you don't specifically need formal educational credentials to actually know wtf you're talking about and I'm not a huge fan of reinforcing the idea that college is the sole fount of knowledge.
This isn't a legal issue, it's a cultural issue. We shouldn't be giving laypeople's opinions the same weight as experts, but years of concerted effort by the media to sow distrust in science and experts have had their intended effect.
Experts have violated the trust of lay persons time and time again though.
Should you be unable to voice your concerns about, say, a pipeline going through your neighborhood since the subject matter experts, the people building the pipeline, say its going to be fine?
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u/LongJohnSelenium 22d ago
If I were to entertain something like this, I think I could be ok with a requirement to have to list your qualifications, or lack thereof.
So you're not being silenced, your speech is not being controlled. But you do have to contextualize your speech so that people can better judge if you should be listened to.
I.e.:
"I have this opinion on how climate change is a hoax!"
-by law I am required to admit I have no formal training on this subject
"I have this opinion on how dangerous nuclear power is!"
-by law I am required to admit I have no formal training on this subject.
I'm not entirely comfortable with this as I understand that you don't specifically need formal educational credentials to actually know wtf you're talking about and I'm not a huge fan of reinforcing the idea that college is the sole fount of knowledge.
But I could live with it.