In the fall of 1964, a handful of college students at the University of California Berkeley, located in the heart of modern day silicon valley, began protesting for their right, to free speech. The protest quickly grew to the point where the powers that be, in an attempt to squelch the protest, made over 800 arrests in December of 1964. This only made things worse, as the number of protesters continued to swell. In early January, the powers that be reversed course, and gave in to the protester's demands. It was a watershed moment in political history, widely recognized as the birth of the "free speech movement".
It seems only fitting, Silicon valley having birthed free speech in the sixties, happens to be, where free speech goes to die in the 2020's. Google, Facebook, Twitter are all located in Silicon Valley, which has become the modern day epicenter of censorship. These corporations form what Orwell would call the "ministry of truth", as they are rewriting history in real time. With a business model involving suppressing of Truth, banning of investigative journalists, and the crucifying of whistle blowers, all to further a political agenda; they are not independent corporations, they are tools of the state. Propaganda machines, nothing more.
The protesters in 1964 clearly understood free speech matters, because it is the primary method by which the plebes can call Bullshit on our leaders. Free speech is designed to challenge the status quo. Without the means for dissenting voices to be heard, the powers that be, become all the more entrenched. We no longer have free speech here in the US, because the Silicon Valley corporations have built algorithms specifically designed to promote the status quo AND quietly suppress dissent. And somehow, if your counter to the narrative content is good enough to fight through the algorithm and attract a following, they will just de-platform you all together. There is a reason the Taliban have a Twitter page, and former President Trump does not. Textbook censorship.
Censorship is more than just silencing dissent, it is about manufacturing consent and controlling what people think. Distancing yourself from all the propaganda & censorship is no easy task. It takes an intense curiosity about what is really going on in the world. It takes actual critical thinking to discern fact from fiction. But more than anything else, it takes recognizing the narrative we are fed repeatedly by the powers that be and their silicon valley lackeys, is just a construct. It is designed to control us, to condition us, to get us to conform idealogically. It is not in anyway, grounded in reality.
In true Orwellian fashion, the pushing of the narrative in support of TPTB, as well as the censoring of dissent, will always be couched in virtue. They are going tell you they are ridding the world of disinformation, hate speech, and conspiracy theorists. When in reality, they are diligently working in the background to filter away all speech those in power might find a little too close to the truth. The truth, is the one thing those in power fear the most, as it is the anecdote to the lies they spread.
If there is one thing history is very clear on, it is this: The guy who has to be censored, is the guy who speaks truth to power. The guy whose ideas have merit and yet run counter to the controlling narrative. That guy….has to be silenced. You see it played out in history, over and over again. Why was Christ nailed to a cross? Why was Socrates forced to drink hemlock? Why was MLK assassinated? Why was Solzhenitsyn sent to the gulag? Why is Assange sitting in a prison cell without his day in court? These people all spoke truth to power, and power had to shut them down.
History is replete with examples of despots and tyrants censoring truth at all costs. The one thing history is not replete with, is censorship by the good guys. It is always the bad guys who do the censoring. Similarly, it is the people who are being censored, whose ideas have merit. Are there exceptions, sure, but not many. So when Google, Facebook, and Twitter decide to "de-platform" someone, we know from history, that Silicon valley is in the wrong. Likewise, It is highly likely the people they are de-platforming, speak the truth.
You want truth? Stop allowing Silicon Valley to filter your access to information. Stop letting them decide what truth is. Actively start seeking out the people who have been blacklisted by the silicon valley ministry of truth. Start listening to what they have to say. Start deciding for yourself, if they speak truth or not. Stefan Molyneux, James O'keefe, Dr. Robert Malone, RFK, Edward Snowden are just a few of the beacons of truth available to you, I'm certain there are plenty more from which to choose.
Preview: Subject of some upcoming blogs include: Social Credit Systems, Laziness and AI.
Bagholder, if I were in charge I would have every kid in high school read this piece four times per year every year. Bravo!
“When there’s no such thing as truth, you can’t define reality. When you can’t define reality, the only thing that matters is power.”--Maajid Nawaz on Joe Rogan podcast.