Ray9
Diamond Member
- Jul 19, 2016
- 2,707
- 4,467
- 1,970
Asking uncomfortable questions is becoming more dangerous in our society. The establishment of a Disinformation Governance Board last month will effectively stifle any inquiries or criticism of official agencies both state and federal. It is an unbelievable condition for a free speech democracy. The one thing that can corrode democracy into a state of authoritarianism is too outlaw free speech. The people pushing this horrible idea know that, but do not care. Those that have power now know that in this technological age, controlling opinion is paramount. Opposing opinions cause conflict which could lead to chaos and chaos leads to change. This is not a problem in totalitarian countries because conflicting opinions are erased by government in the name of security. The fact that we are moving in that direction here should cause concern in the hearts of all Americans.
I am retired so if I ask an uncomfortable question about the city I live in, no one can make a phone call to my employer who under pressure, will suddenly find fault with my work and fire me. This is not to say that Homeland Security could not in the future penalize me by taking away my Social Security benefit or attack one of my pensions. Nothing is off the table in these times so many people are cautiously silent. I am not going to go quietly.
I know that power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely but at seventy-five I speak for my children and grandchildren. Donald Trump’s surprise election in 2016 accelerated the imposition of government oppression in the US because Washington saw that people were rejecting the direction the country was headed in. The development of a position that government in the United States owns the truth and any challenges to that truth must be investigated and punished will be fatal to democracy as we know it. Free speech is the mortar that fortifies the foundations of our democracy. Without it, democracy will collapse.
That is apparently the plan. Washington has decided that democracy in America has run its course and the problematic outcome of Donald Trump’s election can never be allowed to repeat itself. Informaton is ubiquitous in these times, and Washington has decided to remove free speech from the equation while it can. Do nothing, say nothing, be nothing. That worked in the Soviet Union, and it works well in China. Now it is here.
I am retired so if I ask an uncomfortable question about the city I live in, no one can make a phone call to my employer who under pressure, will suddenly find fault with my work and fire me. This is not to say that Homeland Security could not in the future penalize me by taking away my Social Security benefit or attack one of my pensions. Nothing is off the table in these times so many people are cautiously silent. I am not going to go quietly.
I know that power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely but at seventy-five I speak for my children and grandchildren. Donald Trump’s surprise election in 2016 accelerated the imposition of government oppression in the US because Washington saw that people were rejecting the direction the country was headed in. The development of a position that government in the United States owns the truth and any challenges to that truth must be investigated and punished will be fatal to democracy as we know it. Free speech is the mortar that fortifies the foundations of our democracy. Without it, democracy will collapse.
That is apparently the plan. Washington has decided that democracy in America has run its course and the problematic outcome of Donald Trump’s election can never be allowed to repeat itself. Informaton is ubiquitous in these times, and Washington has decided to remove free speech from the equation while it can. Do nothing, say nothing, be nothing. That worked in the Soviet Union, and it works well in China. Now it is here.
