A little over two centuries ago, a French educator, Francois Marie Auré, better known as Voltaire, said the famous sentence: I don't think like you, but I will fight for the rest of my life for your right not to think like me. To the people of that era, who were open-minded, it probably looked like the world would move forward in terms of freedom of thought and that everyone would be able to express their views without being judged by others or worse, lynched. But looking at the world today, we will notice that most have not yet reached the level of thinking of the Parisian educator.

When it was announced at the beginning of this year that a film by a director from an eastern country would be shown in February in a cult city cinema, you probably thought that the hall would not be excessively full, because, for God's sake, it is not showing a Hollywood blockbuster. However, on that Wednesday afternoon, the cinema hall was, to put it slang, almost full. The people who entered the hall with a nice smile promised a good atmosphere and an even better discussion after the film, which was announced a little earlier by the organizers of the event.

Already at the very beginning of the screening, film lovers - at least that's how it seemed at the beginning - could see for themselves the masterful direction of a filmmaker from another continent. As the plot of the film developed, the atmosphere became increasingly tense, which is understandable since the film was extremely painful to watch (the plot of the film revolves around a middle-aged man who kills prostitutes). All of this would not be strange, if in the end it did not turn out that precisely with this hot atmosphere, the ground was almost prepared for an unpleasant event.

After the film, there was a panel discussion on the topic of 'women, art and freedom'. At the beginning, it seemed as if the whole event would end in a calm tone. As the conversation progressed, someone commented on the current war on the other side of the planet, and then a large number of people joined the discussion in which they talked about the terrible conflict. Then the audience found itself quite outside the original topics, at least in the opinion of one older man. He quite politely suggested that it would be better for the audience to engage more with the film itself and the motifs the film is about. In such a situation, it would be natural to expect a correct answer from the moderator who was in charge of the direction in which the conversation would go. Instead of a calm and civilized response to the elderly gentleman, a certain part of the audience lashed out with unpleasant comments, while the moderator was showered with rhetorical questions. How can he even say such a thing, doesn't he see what we're talking about? it was heard at one point. And now that smile of those people, which they did not remove from their faces when they entered the hall, was no longer cute. It was not endearing that a decent gentleman was shot down just because he expressed his opinion. It is true that the topics that led to this incident are also important. And no one disputed that! That gentleman didn't say they were insignificant. His only wish at that moment was for everyone to collectively return to discussing the film and the problems in society that the film talks about. However, the only thing he received in response were condemnations, because he did not fully accept their views, and just a few moments before his good-natured comment, there was talk of rights and freedom of thought and speech. It's a little crazy, isn't it? Who knows, if there was someone a little crazier in the audience, he might have ended up in one of the city's hospitals.

And you? Have you ever thought that everyone has the right to say whatever they want? The one who commits such crimes, expressing his attitude and laughing at it in the crowd, must be aware of the consequences because it is not nice to defy the crowd. Maybe then it is best to stick to their opinion because then at least your head will be safe. And if you still dare to express your opinion, even if it doesn't differ much from theirs, be prepared for punishment and ostracism from society.

Finally, ask yourself what democracy actually means in our society and does it exist at all? What is the purpose of a large number of projects and events organized in these areas, where we learn how to respect other people's views, which are often different from ours, but when we really hear them, a problem arises? What can we expect from the majority who tomorrow will talk about how we are all equal, and the day after they will condemn everyone else who does not think like them. Try to think about what those who say they are not democratic can do, if these supporters of freedom of thought only allow what suits them...

The text was inspired by an event that took place in Sarajevo in February of this year...