Lies destroy lives. And if left unchecked, they can destroy whole societies.
“Let us not forget that violence does not and cannot flourish by itself; it is inevitably intertwined with lying. Between them there is the closest, the most profound and natural bond: nothing screens violence except lies, and the only way lies can hold out is by violence. Whoever has announced violence as his method must inevitably choose lies as his principle.... ” ~ Alexander Solzhenitsyn
Truth and courage are closely tied together. Without courage, it is unlikely that you will obtain the truth. And even if you do stumble across it, if you lack courage, you will not be able to live by it. You will trade truth for pragmatism. You will not be a man or woman of principle. When the chips are down you will become like any common criminal; you will do whatever you have to do to survive.
“Courage is not simply one of the virtues, but the form of every virtue at the testing point, which means, at the point of highest reality. A chastity or honesty, or mercy, which yields to danger will be chaste or honest or merciful only on conditions.” ~ C.S. Lewis
If you lack courage, you will not follow the truth wherever it leads, because you’ll be afraid of what you will discover and how much it will cost you. To live free, one must be brave.
So how does a person become brave?
“To try to be brave is to be brave.” ~ George MacDonald
Don't be one of the crowd. Be brave.
‘Do not follow the crowd in doing wrong. When you give testimony in a lawsuit, do not pervert justice by siding with the crowd,' Exodus 23:2
Love truth more than anything else and you will either confirm that what you currently believe is true, or you will give up your beliefs for that which is true.
End Note
Freedom of speech must be protected at all costs. On this foundation, a healthy civilisation is built. Yes, some speech is offensive, but as long as the speech is simply attacking ideas or beliefs (and not encouraging people to attack other people), such speech must be allowed. A Muslim should have the right to say publicly that what Christians believe about Jesus is false (no matter how offensive Christians find such speech). And Christians must have the right to say in public that what Muslims believe is false. If a government cannot protect freedom of speech, it is only a matter of time before the most violent gain complete control of that society (if they haven't already).
See also Raymond Ibrahim's video: GROK ADMITS It Was LYING