Dear Friends,
It seems to me, progressives, liberals and post modernists only believed in freedom of expression when they were out of power, now they’re in power, they have no need or want of freedom of speech. Indeed, freedom of opinion is counter to their maintaining power and so is an anathema to them. We know this because of their actions. In the 1960’s the Marxist element protested and rioted to protect free speech. Today, those same students, now in power, have the opposite view and they aren’t afraid to say it. Which means that power is all they care about. Not stopping imperialism, helping the workers or uplifting the downtrodden. Now they are the powerful, we see their true colors. Today’s elite are willing to step on millions and destroy entire economic sectors, to create a global empire, for themselves.
I’ve heard that you can tell the character of a person by how they treat the waitstaff. Being curious I observe this in action and have concluded this adage is true enough. It doesn’t work for psychopaths who are on stage all the time though. Most people’s real character comes out when we believe we’re bulletproof. If we apply this logic to the elite, we can recognize their character by their actions once in power. If they maintain a ethic when they are both out of power and in power, they can be said to be authentic. Those that rule the opposite of how they demand others rule, however, are hypocrites. Their character is exposed by their actions when in power and they consider themselves safe. This is a pretty reliable way to discern good leaders from bad ones.
Freedom of expression is a leveling device. It helps level the playing field between the powerful and the weak. The powerful already have a built in advantage… the bully pulpit. If the powerful can leverage their authority into silencing the weak, then the playing field of ideas becomes utterly lopsided. An elite that are pathological are the most likely to operate this way. The insane lack many of the self limits normal people have. Therefore, a crazy person might believe that they are so smart, wise and much more moral than everyone else, they are not only entitled to censor others… but obligated to. Where a normal person realizes, by the time they ate three, they are fallible and have a sense of humility. That humility leads sane people to allow freedom of speech.
People who fear free speech fear it because they are telling lies. Liars always hate information that’s outside their control. That’s the essence of a swindle. Make the mark believe he has the wide view when his perspective is closely mapped out for him. That way he walks directly into the game, eyes wide open and thinking he’s in charge. Loose lips sink ships though, and a swindle depends on the marks not knowing. Given enough authority and a grifter can call inopportune disclosures, Russian disinformation, right wing conspiracy theories and distractions. Someone telling the truth invites free speech because when compared to a lie, the truth always speaks for itself. Lies knots tend to strangle themselves eventually. Especially if pulled tight by inquiry.
Those who demand of others that which they are unwilling to do themselves are called hypocrites. Demanding freedom of speech while they are out of power, then openly censoring others once they are in power, is a sure sign of a demented person. A lying hypocrite. Then to have the audacity to justify it by claiming to be so smart, so wise and so much more moral than the rest of the world, they are not only authorized but obligated to silence misinformation, disinformation and wrongthink, proving they’re crazies. Imagine the violent outburst that would have happened in 1967 had the government openly censored the phone system for political and medical content? Today, the Biden administration justifies it in court, then refuses to oblige a court order to stop. They’re so smart…
Sincerely,
John Pepin
