Today? Yeah, it is. But the previous claim was that freedom of speech was some kind of essential, enduring feature of "the west". But Europe's (and its colonies

Today? Yeah, it is. But the previous claim was that freedom of speech was some kind of essential, enduring feature of "the west". But Europe's (and its colonies') history in that regard is actually a patchwork of freedom and oppression — but mostly oppression, much like the rest of the world. Europe's trend over the past couple of hundred years has been good regarding political and religious speech, but I wouldn't base any sweeping conclusions about long-term cultural differences on that.