Relationship between a Social Issue or Problem and the Various Media

Free Speech in the Time of COVID

Thats against the law!Ray Bradbury, Fahrenheit 451

In the time of COVID, free speech came under assault: contrarian voices were kicked off Twitter and other social media; people who protested were fired, had the businesses shut down, or were arrested; and the media establishment allowed one narrative and one narrative only. This led to a situation where dissenting views were effectively suppressed. As a result, the free exchange of ideas was stifled and critical thinking was discouraged. In short, it has been a troubling development that could have far-reaching implications for democracy. Moreover, it reflects the kind of dystopian perspective put forward by Ray Bradbury in Fahrenheit 451. The fact that so many people went along with it, viewing contrarians and independent thinkers as conspiracy theorists or whackos suggests that Postmans complaint of the typological mind was legitimate: people were engaging merely in shallow thought processes, never diving deeply into the rhetorical situation to understand why the images and narrative they were seeing on TV and on blue-check-approved social media were meant for their consumption (Baima; Malcolm).

The big concern that the government pushed and promoted during COVID centered on safety. It was a lot like the way the government in Bradburys novel pushed for safety by burning books, though: ideas are badespecially ideas that didnt come from us; like ideas that came from books or other sourcesthat arent blue-check-approved and fact checked by establishment fact checkers. Debate was not permitted. There was one narrative and one narrative onlywhether one was on NPR, CNN, or virtually any news network, social media platform (from YouTube to Twitter) or at ones place of work. The government had total say on the matter of what to think about COVID, vaccines, lockdowns, quarantines, and human rights. Everything else was suspector canceled.

Since then, more and more people have become more and more vocal about free speech. For instance, Elon Musk, the worlds richest man, just bought Twitterostensibly because he had free speech concerns and felt that the platform had become too censorious and too controlling of narratives in the public arena. Only Musk and those closest to Musk likely know his true intentions, but the fact remains that Musk has publicly stated his issue with Twitter and his motive. Free speech is thus a serious issue and the suppression of free speech during the time of COVID definitely upset a lot of people who were on the receiving end of getting canceled for voicing a dissenting opinion or challenging the official narrative.

I for one became so flummoxed by the narrative and how forcefully it was being pushed that I did a Google search to see if anyone out there had ever questioned the actual existence of viruses, period. Turns out that, yes, several people had and have and do. Drs. Stefan Lanka and Tom Cowan, for instance, had become overnight stars in some corners of the Web for articulating a theory of biology in which viruses and germs played no part (Babich).

Why...…from government to banks to businesses. They do not want anyone questioning their narrativesnot like Montag in Fahrenheit 451. Not like Kanye in real life. Not like those calling for police to release body cam footage of the response to Paul Pelosis 911 call.

Free speech is a problem because there is most likely some serious collusion going on at the upper echelons of power. The people in those upper echelons of power would sooner burn our rights than allow us to burn the piles that keep them propped up in their ivory towers. They want their own firemen to burn up words and opinions that contradict their views. They want laws making it illegal to utter views that might be considered hatefulhateful because it attacks their own legitimacy and authority?

Its a Fahrenheit 451 world were living in todaya total dystopian society, in which free thinking is oppressed (dont you dare think or say something that is not blue-check-approved), in which people are dehumanized (how dare anyone oppose abortion just because it is literally the killing of a baby?!abortion must be a fundamental human right because woman!!!), and in which the upper echelons of power are dragging us all into a global conflict as fast as they can arrange it. It is a world in which one cannot even wager a guess or theory about who is calling the shots in that upper echelon. But as the saying goes, if you want to know what the truth is, just look at what youre not allowed to talk about.…