Facebook, Twitter, Reddit, Instagram are all banning conservative speakers. "But those are private companies who can do what they please!" Sure, and what they please are echo chambers of liberal bliss. Now there's a war on "fake news", which really means any news that slants to the right. We've reached a point where simply having a different opinion classifies as "hate speech" and therefore not "free speech", even though there's no exception for that in the constitution. Go figure.
Well,
Schenck v. United States - Wikipedia limited free speech. Given the famous line 'you can't shout "fire" in a crowded theater,' due to the potential for harm, the slippery slope fallacy comes into play as we are now restricting speech as people quite literally kill themselves (and lesser degrees of self-harm) over being confronted with opposing views. Where is the line drawn? Where is personal accountability? To me, the difference in that SCOTUS decision is there is no time to weigh options and investigate the matter. 'Hate speech,' as currently defined, does not create any immediate danger and can be beaten via logical discourse. Someone telling their congregation to lynch the niggers right now is inciting harm, which to make someone commit harm is hateful in definition except among the small percentage of pathological disorders who can act without remorse. Hate speech being legally codified as 'worse' was the beginning of true restriction of freedom of speech which we now see as being expanded to 'fake news.' Orwell was a fucking time traveler or something.
Free speech means the right for hateful speech to brought into public discourse. To me, an educated populace when shown all options will make (to a large degree with exceptions for small percentages) the right decision. Limiting the variety of speech available makes for poorer decisions. The educated populace principle has gone out the window because education has become equated with a college degree as opposed to the use of logic. Echo chambers have always been here, and now algorithms are being used to magnify their effect the Nth degree. I enjoy hearing new views and seeing how other cultures work to compare and contrast with what I do, picking the best practices to augment what I already do and know. A large percentage of people do not have that mindset. I can not even come up with a bullshit percentage I would hang even my hat on, let alone my beliefs, but it's a lot. Many people I sided with on this election would just as quickly seek to restrict the opposition via the same tactics. It's tough being in the middle as you're surrounded by people who think you're the enemy.
There's a reason why freedom of speech is the first amendment, and bearing arms is the second. When the first fails, the second must be used. There's still a lot of time and opportunity left to save the first. The sudden glorification of Hamilton is interesting as Jefferson was his main ideological opponent. I like to think I would have been a Hamiltonian then, but a Jeffersonian now. Jefferson's writings on the US having further revolutions in the future are well known, and many interpret it to be outright populace rising up but I see it as a revolution in thought and using our systems in place to bring those who seek to restrict rights while we work to fix it. With the deep government clearly in action via the Bush's and Clinton's, the manifestation of Donald has thrown an x-factor into our controlled descent into tyranny.
Reactionaries, historically, have been the guys who wish to turn the clock back on a lot "progress." We're at a unique junction where we don't believe gays are witches, and can guarantee their rights by turning the clock back on the myriad of restrictions put into place since the 60's. We've been in a perpetual war for 15 years. The first decade our Army was a thousand men on the frontier. Trump gives the best chance for all minorities in terms of absolute rights. Hand outs like Affirmative Action have failed and hurt those who through their own strength rise out of shitty situations as they become 'affirmative action hires' which is a fucking shame.
MAGA is about every citizen doing better, even if you don't believe in it. The only people that have anything to fear are those who sold their soul to the system. More people saying what they want, and in many cases being ostracized by the public for it, but that's fine that's how we sharpen our collective ideals towards a good honest truth in man. More guns, cause the people have owned the right to be responsible for themselves 240 years ago. Last, but not least or only - NO MORE QUARTERING OF TROOPS IN PRIVATE HOMES! NEVER FORGET!
