Rowan Atkinson論言論自由 / Rowan Atkinson on Free Speech

在考慮任何與言論自由相關的問題時，我的出發點是我堅信，生命中第二寶貴的東西
是自由表達自己的權利。

我認為生命中最珍貴的東西就是嘴裡的食物。第三個最珍貴的是你頭上的屋頂。

但對我來說，排名第二的痴迷因素是自由表達，略低於維持生命本身的需要。

那是因為我在整個職業生涯中都在這個國家享有言論自由，並且完全期望繼續這樣做。

就我個人而言，我懷疑極不可能因為我限制言論自由的法律而被捕，因為公眾人物無疑享有特權地位。

因此，我不太擔心自己，而是擔心那些因為低調而更脆弱的人。

就像在牛津因稱警馬為同性戀而被捕的男子一樣。或者因稱山達基教會為邪教而被捕的青少年。或者咖啡館老闆因在電視屏幕上展示聖經段落而被捕。

My starting point when it comes to the consideration of any issue relating to free speech is my passionate belief that the second most precious thing in life is the right to express yourself freely.

The most precious thing in life I think is food in your mouth. And the third most precious is a roof over your head. But a fixture for me in the number two slot is free expression, just below the need to sustain life itself.

That's because I have enjoyed free expression in this country all my professional life and fully expect to continue to do so.

Personally, I suspect highly unlikely to be arrested for whatever laws exist to contain free expression because of the undoubtedly privileged position that is afforded to those of a high public profile.

So my concerns are less for myself and more for those more vulnerable because of their lower profile.

Like the man arrested in Oxford for calling a police horse gay. Or the teenager arrested for calling the Church of Scientology a cult. Or the cafe owner arrested for displaying passages from the Bible on a TV screen.