In part 1, I wrote about the disillusionment and frustration of 75 million voters in the 2020 election. I hear so often that we’ve never been so divided. Perhaps, but we are united in 1 thing….we’re all angry.
Regardless of your position, our government is responsible for our anger and mistrust. We don’t suffer repeated revolutions, government overthrows. Why? Faith in the system! Today, that system is under attack. Today, we are questioning that faith. If we lose it, the demise of our country, as we know, is at hand. If you think I’m exaggerating, read on.
A “reign of terror” is imminent. Like Robespierre, Nancy, Chuck, and the Leftists are taking no prisoners. Free speech is being threatened. Google, Twitter, and Facebook have become the Lords of information. Dorsey, Zuckerberg, and Pinchai have anointed themselves as the arbiters of truth and what is offensive. They are on record telling us it’s only the beginning. What’s next? Crushing opponent social media platforms (hmmm!), telling us books and authors who are permitted, which cable or network news is acceptable. When did disagreement become sedition? When did the deplorables become domestic terrorists? When did “safe” speech become speech they agree with? When did hypocrisy graduate from stunning to breathtaking?
The purpose of free speech is to incite debate, not violence. The 1st Amendment does not protect such speech. Freedom of religion, press, and assembly cannot exist without protected free speech. No democracy can survive without peaceful dissent. Our Senate was created for that purpose.
How a society treats its dissidents is revealing. In the Leftist, Orwellian world where the speech dictators live, words need to be controlled because words = dissent and dissent is forbidden. In their world, dissent is not only prohibited, but punished. It is already happening on social media, college campuses, and Hollywood. Boycotts, lost jobs, and blacklists are growing. All reminiscent of the McCarthy era.
There’s a nagging question that needs to be answered. Why does the Left crush all dissent? Maybe it’s because it always has. Since Lenin, there has been no example of Lefty control without crushing dissent. NONE! Or, maybe it’s because they’re afraid of it….with good reason. Leftism is essentially void of intellectual substance. It is more emotion than doctrine. It cannot withstand scrutiny. True intellectuals do not stifle dissent, they welcome it. Why not provide me with a venue of expression? Challenge me. Expose me.
Hate, power, and control are addictive. Without accountability, they grow geometrically. Today, the targets are Trump, his supporters, his donors, friendly congressmen and talk show hosts. It is already pervasive. Institutions as JP Morgan, Citibank, Blue X, Marriott, Deutsch Bank, Facebook, Twitter, AMEX, Visa, Verizon, Comcast, and the Dow have suspended donations and doing business with the newly labeled “treason caucus.” Forbes published an op ed stating it is “holding those who lied for Trump accountable….in a truth reckoning.” Hire any Trumpers and “Forbes will assume everything your company or firm talks about is a lie.” Dorsey is on tape admitting censorship is no longer a reaction but policy. Who’s next?
When this subject comes up, the 1st thing I hear is, “It’s a private business. They can do what they want.” Hmmm, really? NEWSFLASH for all the intellectually bereft Leftists. ONLINE SPEECH IS PROTECTED!! Proof? Read on.
3, yes 3, Supreme Court rulings confirm this: in 1969, “The right to receive information and ideas, regardless of their social worth, is fundamental to our free society;” in 1997, “Congress…must not legislate in ways that would threaten free expression ONLINE;” in 2017, Congress shall make no law prohibiting the freedom of speech, today the most important place for the exchange of views is CYBERSPACE.” Not enough? Read on.
These private information companies all depend on 1 thing….the internet. There is no Facebook, Twitter, Google, or Amazon without it. Guess what. No company owns the internet! It is a global consortium + the US Federal Government. All internet service providers, web hosts, and communication services in this country are accountable to……………….federal regulators!! Just as TV and radio broadcasts are accountable to the FCC, so are online companies accountable to the Feds. Online speech IS protected speech……………………………….PERIOD!!
America came into existence as an experiment, unlike any nation in history. Our founding document begins “We the people…” After more than 2 centuries of trial and error, we continue to struggle “to form a more perfect union.” With all our flaws, we are the freest, most prosperous, and generous country on earth because of, not in spite of, our inalienable rights. But today, those rights are being threatened with extinction. In their place, is rule by tyranny, accusations without proof, and censorship. The threat is coming entirely from within. If we accept, without question, the opinions we are fed as facts, if we allow the bias, ½ truths, double standards to guide our decisions, if we tolerate the discrimination and blacklists of dissenters, then we become part of the problem. Violence is, and never will be, the answer.
If we are to survive as a Constitutional republic, “we the people” must confront our opponents in the arena that hurts the most. ACT. Think twice before using Twitter, Facebook, or Google. There are still alternatives. They are ad supported sites. Fewer users = less $$. Make your voices heard. Failure to do so, is to be disgraced as the generation that betrayed its children and lost the nation.
“The darkest place in hell is reserved for those who maintain their neutrality in times of crisis.” -Dante
“To suppress free speech is a double wrong. It violates the rights of the hearer as well as the speaker.” -Fredrick Douglass
PS: I need to clarify. When I use the term “Left,” I do not mean “Liberal.” Liberals are committed to free speech. Leftys suppress it. Of course, only “hate speech.” Unfortunately, they define such as speech they disagree with.
One thought on “The Winter of Our Discontent – Part II”
Yes I’m angry…very angry; and, for the first time am on the brink of totally losing faith in our system. With all evidence of corruption being swept under the rug, and falsehoods being accepted as truth, I’ve about lost hope. However, there is a small pilot light that remains as I only see us coming together based upon a totally obvious failure and exposure of the corruptness of the current administration. Not Happy.