Free speech alive in France; dying in Ethiopia
Free speech alive in France; dying in Ethiopia By Robele Ababya The French Revolution (1789 – 1799) was preceded by the Age of Enlightenment in Western Europe in which intellectual giants and philosophers like Francis Bacon, Rene Descartes, John Locke, Baruch Spinoza, Pierre Bayle, Voltaire, Francis Hutcheson, David Hume, Cesare Beccaria, Immanuel Kant, and Isaac Newton influenced society by publishing widely read works. Coinciding with the Age of Enlightenment was the Scientific Revolution, spearheaded by England’s Sir Isaac Newton (1643-1727). Their noble works fostered the principle of tolerance to diverse ideas and acceptance of multiple religious beliefs to take center-stage in the development of society with which some rulers went along. Voltaire was among these intellectuals of the Enlightenment who gave the world this immortal quote: “I do not agree with what you have to say, but I’ll defend to the death your right to say it“; the quote is attributed to the French philoso