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No, I do not agree. In my opinion, some people are just looking for trouble and whatever they say is only meant to harm others one way or another.

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There are 7 statements taken from / associated with HATSOS / related to Salman Rushdie. Choose two statement(s) to respond to and share your thoughts on the statement.

Click on the '+' button at the end of the statement, to add a post.

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I partially agree with this statement.
To not give a reply to a question asked to you, is being disrespectful and belittling the person asking you the question,  though there are ways to reply without words, it may still be vague and not the answer the person is looking for.
However, when you have nothing to say or do not think your response will be of help, then I think it is right to stay silent. By speaking up when you have no thoughts on the matter they may distract others. Sometimes, words may hurt others.
Words can also be overwhelming for some, many like me enjoy the silence and thinks it is noisy and frustrating when there are a lot of voices speaking for a long time. Though some may think or feel otherwise.

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I agree. The power of speech is greater than even the might of an army, because speech can convince millions of people to follow a lead willingly, instead of being forced to. It can be used for the greater good, or for pure evil. Words can inspire someone to live on, or break a person’s heart, making or breaking someone’s life. If so, then the power of speech is even more so. Throughout history, this has been proven time and time again. Although actions should be more significant, words give us more hope or more fear, because humans rely the most on communication at the end of the day.

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Yes, I agree that silence is golden. Silence can help us avoid conflict with others, when we just keep our thoughts to ourselves, and not judge others for who they are so quickly. Silence can also help us concentrate on our things better, and have a clear head. In stories, punctuation can also be a form of silence. It can leave an impact on the reader, so that the line before the sentence can sink into our minds better, and make us understand what the author wants to emphasise. Silence, is thus powerful and golden.

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I agree. The power of speech is the greatest of all power as most of the time, it is the words that you use that convince people to do a certain thing. Without speaking, there is no way you can make a certain thing happen. Let’s say elections, if you gave a good speech, people would consider voting for you because there is no way someone can look at you 24/7. Hence, your speech is powerful enough to convince others to vote for you since in this case, your actions can barely be seen.

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No, this is not true. Although stories may be fictional, they reflect the nature of humanity because stories are what humans create. This is meaningful as it can apply to our real-life experiences as we can gain knowledge from reading stories, for stories, after all, are based on the real-world (or elements of it). Not only that, stories can also give us happiness when we are feeling down, which is something meaningful as it gives as refuge from the real world and allow ourselves to escape into a fantasy. Stories can also broaden your perspectives on certain topics through the messages the author is trying to convey, allowing us to be more curious and well-versed in topics. Lastly, stories can allow us to learn to express our thoughts and ideas more eloquently and with greater impact, by learning from authors themselves. All in all, how could fiction be unmeaningful?

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I do not agree. Apart from pleasure, stories that are not true can also provide a sense of comfort for readers who can relate to them, and some may teach us important life lessons and values.

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Yes, i agree. Silence is often considered valuable and golden as it can provide an opportunity for self reflection. By embracing silence, we create a space to process our thoughts, emotions, and experiences, leading to personal growth and self-awareness.

Secondly, silence allows for better listening and understanding. When we remain silent, we give others the chance to express themselves fully. Active listening becomes possible, allowing us to form deeper connections and empathy. By truly hearing what others have to say without interrupting, we can gather valuable insights and gain a more comprehensive understanding of different opinions and perspectives.

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Yes but not entirely. While everyone has the freedom to say or express whatever they like through drawing or writing, which is the beauty of art, everyone also has control over how they respond, or their interpretations. It depends mostly on everyone’s intentions. We should keep in mind that a controversial artwork may be targeted towards a root of a problem, not the people.

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No. Some people may have different opinions or even dislike the other people’s work, but they should not be saying mean or hurtful things to them. Instead, they should mention it in an encouraging and thoughtful way.

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I agree. As long as there are no intentions to purposely cause harm or offence, criticisms and contradicting opinions are key to a progressive community, where we take everyone’s thoughts seriously and improve.

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No, I strongly disagree. Are you trying to say if you have a contradicting opinion on something you’re just going to say it out whenever and wherever you want? Thats just being disrespectful. Yes, we have the freedom to think as we want, but we need to keep in mind that it is basic mutual respect to be mindful of your words especially in public spaces. The fact that some people think that just because they are their own person their allowed to just speak whenever and wherever they want without a care of the world is so outrageous and its obvious that they are not thinking about other people’s feelings at all. Thats just having no empathy for others emotions. Stop thinking the world revolves around you, it doesn’t. You’re obliged to your own emotions and thoughts, but you are also responsible for the words you speak.

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I disagree.
I will not deny that there are times when silent is golden, like when we are trying to focus. However, most of the time, we can do better if we talk to one another and communicate our thoughts. Only then can we combine our points of view to be able to see the bigger picture and excel in whatever area we are working on.

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I disagree. Not everything we don’t see is unbelievable.  Sometimes, even if we did not see it with our own eyes, we should have faith in it. We do not know if it is real or not, but it is faith that gives us hope. However, this does not mean that we have to believe everything that we don't see. It might be fake news/rumours. We should still be aware of the things we trust.

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I agree. While some might argue that silence is basically the lack of a response, I personally think that silence is the most impactful reaction ever. In stories, when the protagonist is hit with a harsh or unforeseen fate/situation, the most common reaction is to be shocked, to “stand rooted to the ground”, to be “Stunned wordless”. However, in this quite moments, readers can imagine the feelings going through his/her head at that particular moment, as if the silence is what makes room for these emotions, for readers to truly feel.

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I disagree. The power of speech is only the greatest power of all, if its user is knowledgable in how to use it. Speeches and words have caused wars and conflicts, but they have also created peace and tranquility. However, this can also apply to music, actions, etc. I feel that in different forms of communication, as long as its user has the ability to manipulate that form of communication to their will, it can be considered as 'the greatest power of all'.

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I agree. The power of speech is greater the the power of strength. Speech can be used for different kinds of things, it can be used to harm others, or heal people’s scars. In the case of harming others, speech is more harmful compared to physical pain as the bruises of physical pain can be healed or they would fade away as time passes. The insults that comes from speech is not able to be healed unless you heal it with speech. I would think that speech causes more pain to others, but can heal most scars that are not on the physical body of the human.

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I disagree to a certain extent.
While speech may be powerful in motivating others, I feel that actions are usually more powerful than words. By showing our intentions instead of saying them, people tend to believe us more as they can tell that we are most definitely not lying to them. Speech is just words put together, anyone can say it. However, only those who truly believe in what they are saying or doing can actually show what they truly mean.

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I think technically yes, if we want freedom, we should be allowed to speak our minds, but we should be sensitive to what we are saying and not what words are hurtful , if not the world will be very chaotic

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I disagree. Sometimes, although people do not have solid evidence that something exists, they put their faith into it, as they fully believe that it exists. They have hope that what they trust is actually real, and sometimes it could be the right decision.

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I disagree with this. firstly to be able to say anything we want would cause chaos around the world, different parties with different beliefs would begin fighting as one says something that may offend the others. War would ensue, this would not only break many bonds built between countries and people in our world but also further damage our already dying planet. Having the “freedom” to say anything you want would also cause for current world problems to worsen ( such as racism, sexism, gender equality etc.)
Secondly, freedom is not something that everybody feels even if they can say whatever they want. Some may even feel more suffocated and trapped as compared to before, as they live in constant fear everyday that someone’s words would cause pain maybe not physically but emotionally.
Lastly, if everyone is allowed to say whatever they want, more false information would be spread, even more than what we have now, nobody will be able to believe anything they are told, and to need to have suspicion in everyone wouldn’t be something I deem as freedom.

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I agree that silence is golden. Firstly, silence is the right decision to make when you have nothing good to offer. For instance, in a discussion, when you do not have an idea of some sort, it is best to remain silent instead of forcing yourself to say some nonsense. Secondly, silence can give you a peace to the mind (which is quite rare). This can allow us to think deeply and focus on a task at hand more efficiently. Thirdly, you cannot buy silence. When you need silence to focus, you cannot buy it right away. Lastly, silence is a response although there’s no sound produced. Thus, I agree that silence is golden.

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I disagree. I feel that the power of authority is the greatest power of all. When someone from a strong background presents a speech, more people are prone to receiving the message due to his/her high status. Other than that, considering that the person is of high authority, he/she will have full control of the people even when they defy. This shows the power of authority will also restrict other’s thoughts at times. But if we were to talk about a random stranger presenting a speech, not many will be convinced by him/her as we lack knowledge and understanding of the person. Additionally, even if a person of high authority performs an action muted, his/her recognition from everyone else can also allow that action to be impactful to others. Thus, this does not regard speech as the greatest power.

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Yes.
However, the people should keep in mind that they should only say things that are beneficial to others and themselves, instead of saying things that will hurt others

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No, I don’t agree. Though we should have the rights to share our opinions and beliefs, it is within the confinements of moral rights. We should not say anything that is not abiding by laws or that are intended to cause hurt.

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No, I disagree with this statement. Although there may be things we cannot see, does not mean we cannot believe in it. This is commonly observed in religions. It requires faith. Faith is believing in something although we may not see it. In our daily lives as well, there are so many things happening all over the world. Are we not going to believe news, just because it is not shown on TV? Are we going to go to every part of the world just to witness the different incidents happening in different countries? Of course not.

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Yes, I agree. Remaining silent is an approach some people take in response to some questions. When we remain silent, no one will be able to know what is going through our mind. In that way, it makes our “response” more valuable as there different people understand silence differently. Some people take it as ignorance while some takes it as an act of guilty. But at the end of the day, only we know what the correct answer is. Thus, silence is indeed golden as our opinions and thoughts during that period of time is kept precious and only to ourselves.

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I disagree.
I strongly believe that sometimes, we have to put our faith in things we cannot see, like religion or our gut feeling. Although we cannot see these things, it is important to trust it as it gives us hope and may also result in the right decisions

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I disagree on a large extent.
I think even though speaking freely is a type of freedom, what people want to say must not be against the law (e.g. spreading rumours intentionally) and it must not cause severe harm to other people’s self-esteem or dignity or sense of identity (e.g. religions).

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I do not agree. Sometimes we just have to believe in something, although we might be unable to see it.  most of the time we only believe in the good things although we cannot see them, but there are other things that we are unable to see that we do not trust as they are not really good things

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No. The joy of reading is rooted to the power of imagination. This also applies to daily life. Without the power of imagination, no progress can be made, no milestones achieved because humans will not dare to dream and create and invent. For example, it would take a much longer time for technology to be advanced as it currently is.

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Yes, I agree. Based on the saying “The pen is mightier than the sword”, writing is a better way to express one’s opinions, and better for convincing people. people may believe what you say, but even if you did something good but your speech is not good to ask people to help you rally for your cause, having a good speech than just a good action done is better.

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I do not agree. I think that if creative writers/artist need to be allowed to write/draw, it would not even be creative anymore. It would just limit their freedom as well as the way they think.

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I disagree. Stories that are not even true, which are fictional stories, all have meanings. These fictional stories usually use  world affairs as the main theme in the story and represent it using ordinary day story plots and characters. These stories then can hence bring us a moral and a greater impact because we must truly understand the context of the story and relate it to our real life before we can appreciate the story, hence making the morals and plots more impactful.

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I feel that although people should be given the freedom to say whatever they want, they cannot abuse this power, and should think before saying. If people don’t think before saying, they might say things that could hurt others or make them feel sad. We should all consider others’ feelings before saying something that might negatively affect them.

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No, I disagree. It is meaningful to read stories that aren't true. Fiction is more than just entertainment and imagination, as many people use these fictional worlds and fantasies as an escape from the harshness of real life. Fiction also allows us, as people, to explore things greater than what we can observe from the physical world we live in. In every 'fake' story, there's a real person that wrote it. So, in a way, every story holds humanity and 'realness' in them. It allows us to connect and understand in ways we couldn't without fictional stories, hence it's meaningful.

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No, i do not agree. Even if the story is not true, it does not necessarily mean that we cannot incorporate the lesson learnt in our daily lives. Although the story might be fictional, im sure that the author is still trying to convey a message to others living through a similar situation, letting them know that they are not alone. Other than that, we can also focus on the writing aspect of the story, and analyse the way the author wrote to keep us hooked up and engaged in the story. I don't think anything is less worth reading when it is not true, and in some cases they can even be more meaningful than non-fiction books, as the story can be enhanced, and exaggerated, to make the readers better understand the big picture of the story.

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I do not agree that spending time on reading stories that are not even true are meaningless. Firstly, most of the fiction stories have educational values, and by reading these stories, we can be a better version of ourselves by implying what we have learnt from the stories into our daily lives. Secondly, these fiction stories can serve as an entertainment. These books are engaging and interesting, and reading books are definitely much better than going on social media for entertainment! Thus, I believe that while we need to priorities our needs, reading fiction stories are beneficial to us and it is definitely not a meaningless activity.

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No, I do not agree. There are endless amounts of things that we are not able to see, but that does not mean that we don’t believe in them. For example, different religions believe in different gods. We cannot see them but yet we have faith in them.

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I do not agree. Although some say that “what you see is what you can trust”, if you believe that you can trust a certain something, to a certain extent, you will be able to see it. Thus, instead it would be “what you trust is what you can see”.

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I do not agree. We can still learn from these stories and widen our horizon of things when reading.

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I do not agree. Some fictional stories such as Aesop’s Fables teaches us life lessons and important values and others provide us with entertainment while reading them.

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No, I do not agree. Fictional stories can bring about many good values and ideas through it. Especially because the writer is able to let the story grow and unfold in any way he or she wishes so as to amplify the meaning he wishes to tell others behind it. Many fictional stories are not only very entertaining but accessible to a large range and group of people despite age, this allows for both young and old to learn the values and meaning in the book they read.

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People should be allowed to say whatever they want whenever they want as long as they are prepared to face possible consequences should what they say affect someone negatively.

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While freedom of speech is a right, it is not absolute. Limitations exist to prevent harm and protect individuals and society. Restrictions are placed on speech that promotes violence, hatred, or poses a threat. If someone wants to say some things that hurt or harm another, they should not be allowed to do it and should refrain from bullying others. However, in the case that someone wants to stand up for a cause or problem in the society, like feminism, they should be allowed to have a voice and be able to voice out their opinions. In conclusion, if the speech is meaningful and not hurting to others, it is right that we are able to say whatever we want for the right reasons..

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No. This is because stories that are untrue could possibly teach us some new creative ideas, and can also increase our imagination level. These untrue stories could also be a great way of entertainment while learning new things.

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No, I do not agree with this. I feel that reading fictional stories, that although are not true, are able to benefit us in a few ways. If we were to just read stories that are true, we would not have creativity as all we would think of are facts that are true. Reading fictional stories allows us to feel the creativity, and imagine of a world that is not true. Fictional stories are also mostly more interesting, and sometimes come with morals and life lessons that we can learn from.

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I disagree. Although the stories are fictional, they are still meaningful, as the author put a lot of thought and effort into the story, and in my opinion, it takes more work to write a well-written fictional story than a non-fiction one. The fictional stories could hold great meaning from within. Take Aesop’s Fables as an example. The stories are fictional but they managed to teach so many children different virtues which they can apply to real life. This shows that reading fictional stories is meaningful.

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No. Although the stories may not be real, the hope and emotions they give us are real. The story may inspire us, motivate us, pressure us. All these emotions and feelings affect our actions daily. Hence, the stories have big impacts on our lives.

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I do not agree. I think that stories that are not true allows us to step into a new world outside of our imaginations and exercises our creative minds to think about the future and what would happen next. It also gives us excitement and anticipation about the life of the characters as more often or not, the environment that the story is placed in is one that we have never experienced and will never experience, giving us an insight into the lives of characters in untrue stories.

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i do not agree as some people do enjoy reading. i enjoy reading stories that are not true as it helps me to relax while i am stressed. during the PPA season, i am very sure all of my classmates were revising and studying a lot. because of the PPA stress, right after the PPAs, i started to read some books that my friend (Charlotte😀) recommended to me. while reading the book, i am in my own world and i can fantasise about things that will (sadly) never become true😞. while i am imagining things, i am relaxing and forgetting all the stress that i previously had. thus i think that it is not meaningless

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In my opinion, people can say anything they want anytime they want. However, other people (Excluding govt.) also have the freedom to respond negatively to it!
Edit: There should still be laws preventing verbal stuff from descending into physical harm, such that most people won’t be seriously harmed.

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I am neutral about this statement. I disagree as philosophically, there are many things we cannot see, such as thoughts or feelings. But, we have faith and trust that our loved ones want what’s best for us, despite not being able to see their love for us. However, I agree as in practicality, with the rise of the internet, the number of scam cases has increased drastically and we cannot be sure of others’ true intentions, be it positive or negative. Thus, nowadays, the entire concept of “evidence” and “proof” is built around not trusting what we cannot see to be safe.

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I do not agree. This is because even when reading stories that are not true (e.g. fiction), we can still learn valuable lessons, some of which is harder for us to learn through the use of real stories because some of us that may not appeal to us so we would not understand the through meaning of the story.

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i don’t agree. because even though some stories are not true, they still will convey the moral and idea of it to the readers, and the readers will learn something from it. also some stories (like Harry Potter), even though magic doesn’t exist, the story is still really intriguing to read

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No, I do not agree that it is meaningless to spend time reading stories that are not true as fiction stories can help us relieve stress and teach us morals as well. When we read a good fiction book, it can feel like we have been transported to a different world, a place where we can be whatever we want. This allows us to feel relaxed. Fiction stories can also boost our creativity and can be a great way of teaching children morals as they are usually more entertaining than non-fiction books.

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No. stories that are not even true are really interesting (like Harry Potter) also, stories that are not even true have morals we can learn (e.g. the boy who cried wolf) —> dont trust anyone so easily, I guess??

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I do not agree with this statement. There are definitely pros and cons about reading fiction books. Until now, we still read non-fiction books. Through non-fiction books, we can expand our imagination and creativity. Non fiction books are pretty enjoyable to read and some of them are even really educational. Hence, we can still benefit a lot from reading fictional books :))

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I do not agree. I think that speech is a great power, but actions are greater that that of speech. While speech can convince others, it is in the end, just words strung together. However, actions are things that people can see, thus making them more believable than speech. After all, speeches could be made up just to tell a lie.

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no i don't think that this statement is true as i could be saying some things that probably might not mean anything to me. however, even if it doesn't mean much to me, it might be something offensive to another person from their point of view. i could be saying something racist😱(im not racist😦) but i would not think much of it as it is not offensive to MY race, but it might mean something that is not very nice to ANOTHER persons race. therefore i don't think that people are allowed to say anything that they want without thinking first🤯

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I think that it is meaningful to spend time reading stories that are not true. Although the story is fictional, there’ll always be something that we can learn from the story, be it a character trait, value or even how we should react to certain situations.

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I disagree.
First of all, there is no actual definition of ‘Freedom’. No one can say exactly what is freedom. Then how can you say that people being allowed to say whatever they want whenever they want is the cornerstone of freedom when you cannot define freedom. Secondly, there are things which you cannot say because you have to take care of others feelings. After all, we are all humans, we have emotions, when you are allowed to say what every you want whenever you want, you wouldn’t know the limit and others would not know the limit as well. This may lead to more Chaos in our world.

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I disagree. It is indeed freedom for people to say whatever they want, but the world consists of many people with different perspectives and sensitive emotions. For example, what the speaker might think of as a joke might be an insult towards the listener. Humans also make use of the ability to communicate to harm others. They would convey hate through they words, causing harm to the person receiving these hate. Somethings should not be said, as it causes harm to others and. Might harm them physically, which in my opinion, is the way to cause there’s most pain.

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No. Even though some stories are not true, they can be interesting to read and give people happiness. It can also inspire people who dislike reading, to find a book to suit their wildest fantasies. Some true stories may also not be as interesting as fictional ones.

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Yes, I agree. You rarely have a moment of silence. It gives you a greater sense of peace, helping you to concentrate on what is important in life by giving clarity when faced with a difficult challenge.

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I disagree that the power of speech is the greatest of all power. On the contrary, I believe that the power of action is greatest. In real life context, many can say ambitious things, to brag or show-off, but they will never do it. ‘Actions speaks louder than words’. By showing, others will believe you as they have seen it with their eyes. Thus, I disagree with this statement.

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I disagree. Silence can be golden at times, but not always. Sometimes, whenever we see something wrong with for example, a task or project we are asked to do, we cannot stay silent and wait for someone to help and discover the mistake. We have to voice out at times, especially when we feel that the situation is wrong or there are errors and faults which we feel must be mentioned and erected. However, a moment of silence could also help us rediscover new ideas with a moment of peace and help us think better.

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I do not agree on a large extent.
I do not agree because nowadays, we depend largely on the internet for information and a lot of times we do not get to see the actually information in real life. (E.g. natural diseases in japan, etc.) So i think that we can trust in information that are general knowledges or events that are not closely related to our lives.
However, if the event is really closely related to us, for example you’re asked to take a test before you can enter an association, you have to see a permit before you actually agree to take the test and enter the association.
Thus, i think it really depends on the extent of the information’s influence on our lives.

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No. Sometimes we have to put our faith into something we can’t see, because otherwise we would live in fear and suspicion every day. Besides, happiness, hopes and talents cannot be seen either.

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I disagree. If we didn’t believe what we couldn’t see, non astronauts could say the earth could be flat and the sun could be a square but based on the information we have, we know its obviously not 🤯

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I disagree. Some things the writer/artist draw may insult someone or be offensive to a certain group of people. This would spark unnecessary conflict. However, should an artist or writer really want to write/draw about that, they should have a claim and state clearly the meaning of their work so as to avoid offending anyone. Although they are make-believe, some people may still it is directed to them. Make-believe is an excuse. You can’t just mock someone and say “oH iTs mAkE-BelIeVe relax”. it will still offend them and may even result in violence.

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No, I disagree. Faith in something we cannot see, allows us to accomplish greater things. 'Blind' trust in an unfathomable being is not as blind as it appears to be, because through that trust, we are able to find trust within ourselves.