Who Took Away Americans Right to Free Speech

Relationship between a Social Issue or Problem and the Various Media

“Free Speech in the Time of COVID”

“That’s 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 Postman’s 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 Bradbury’s novel pushed for safety by burning books, though: ideas are bad—especially ideas that didn’t come from us; like ideas that came from books or other sources…that aren’t blue-check-approved and “fact checked” by establishment fact checkers. Debate was not permitted. There was one narrative and one narrative only—whether one was on NPR, CNN, or virtually any news network, social media platform (from YouTube to Twitter) or at one’s 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 suspect—or canceled.

Since then, more and more people have become more and more vocal about free speech. For instance, Elon Musk, the world’s richest man, just bought Twitter—ostensibly 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 Free Speech Matters

In a democratic society, the ability to freely express one\\\'s thoughts and opinions is essential. Free speech allows for the exchange of ideas and the open discussion of controversial topics. It is through these interactions that we can learn about different viewpoints and grow as individuals. Additionally, free speech is essential for holding those in power accountable. Without the ability to freely criticize the government, it would be difficult to identify and address problems. Furthermore, free speech is a fundamental human right. Everyone should be able to express their own beliefs without fear of retaliation. For these reasons, it is clear that free speech is critical to a healthy democracy and should be protected.

Why It is Now a Problem

Yet free speech has always been a controversial topic, particularly because of the troublesome nature of freedom. If people have the liberty to say what they want—especially when it pertains to authority—it can lead to, well, revolution. After all, the American Revolution was fostered by people speaking openly and freely (see Thomas Paine) about why Americans needed to fight a war against the legitimate ruling authority (the British Crown). Still, free speech has generally been seen as a necessary attribute of free thinking societies. It was seen as so necessary that the US Constitution effectively guaranteed Americans’ right to free speech.

Still, free speech has become especially problematic in recent years. One of the main issues is the rise of political correctness. While some people argue that it\\\'s important to avoid offending marginalized groups, others argue that this can stifle open dialogue and lead to the silencing of minority voices. Another issue is the spread of misinformation. In an age of social media, it\\\'s easy for false information to quickly go viral, and this can lead to dangerous consequences. The COVID-19 pandemic has also exacerbated these problems, as people are increasingly divided on how to best respond to the pandemic. As a result, free speech has become a increasingly thorny issue, and it is not clear how to resolve these tensions.

Solution

So free speech is a complex and often controversial topic. Fine. And there are many different interpretations of what constitutes free speech, and there is no easy solution to the problem. Okay. What is the solution?

One possible solution is to provide more education on the topic. This would ensure that everyone has a clear understanding of what free speech is and why it is important. It would also help to dispel some of the myths and misconceptions about free speech. Another possible solution is to create more forums for open dialogue and debate. This would allow people with different opinions to share their views and reach a greater understanding of the issue. Of course, none of this gets to the real problem of why free speech should be a problem.

The real problem is that those in authority do not want you having free thoughts of your own, a platform of your own, a way to spread ideas that the authorities do not want spread. For instance, just look at the way (former) billionaire Kanye West was de-platformed and canceled after voicing an opinion on Jewish collusion on social media. His opinion was not one that authorities want spread. He was likened to Hitler. All of his major business partners dropped him. Free speech for Kanye? Not a chance. You can call out Russian collusion—Democrats did for years following Trump’s election in 2016. You can call out right-wing collusion; again, Democrats have done that since Jan. 6. But if you dare call out Jewish collusion—canceled. The justification of course is that calling out Jewish collusion could possibly lead to another Holocaust. It’s like denying that COVID is a legitimate emergency could lead to the death of hundreds of millions of people.

In short, we are only allowed a typological mind today—and that is why free speech is a problem: it is problem for those in positions of power and authority, from government to banks to businesses. They do not want anyone questioning their narratives—not 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 Pelosi’s 911 call.