"If what's being spread is false, then it's not free speech...?"
An opinion piece, featuring a short story, by John E. Anthony.
Wow. What a statement.
I ran across this one the other day and was mesmerized by the tremendous implications that could be fit into 11 words.
Masterful.
I must confess, it took me some time to really unravel it; unless you've spent hours contemplating specific subjects it's not an easy one to take apart.
But first, let's put it into perspective, “If what's being spread is false, then it's not free speech” wasn't referring to a ridiculous notion like, “When humans inhale arsenic they produce cyanide.”
(deep pause)
It wasn't even addressing a view that was so out of left-field it shocked everyone involved.
It was triggered by a subjective, reasonable, opposing, opinion.
Now, I know this is going to sound strange in today’s climate, but I've reached a point in my life where I've made it a personal goal to have a more balanced world-view.
I'm really tired of feeling polarized.
With this in mind I've noticed something interesting, the more respectful dialogue I have with people I don't see eye to eye with, which granted, in today’s climate, is not the easiest thing to do, the more I start to achieve a state of …balance.
But for the sake of argument, let's keep playing along…
“If what's being spread is false, then it's not free speech”…
Isn’t it strange that “it’s not free speech” is phrased as a noun in the same way as… “Look at that chair, it’s not free speech”?
Isn’t free speech a concept, more naturally used in a sentence such as, “They don’t have a right to free speech"?
Why are we framing it as a noun?
At this point I could go into the usual jargon of, “who decides what’s false”, “censorship is a slippery slope”, all the stuff that’s been fully discussed before.
I could walk through history and quote from dissertations written by political philosophers who spent a lifetime honing their perspectives through fierce debate; recording their ideas only after sharpening them with opposing opinions.
I could even break down how we've opened the door for hidden agendas to define “its not free speech” for us, and how this will continue up the ladder til we're all unknowingly being ruled by corporations.
(We may all be Neo-Cons!)
But I think there's enough of that out there too.
What I don’t see enough of however is how through statements like this one, the value of a human being is reduced to, ideology.
And I’m deeply tempted to write about the historically tragic implications of this…
But I won’t.
Instead, I’d like to tell you a story…
So there I was, in my freshly remodeled kitchen, sipping on a fresh cup of coffee, when suddenly my front door bursts open and a mad-man rushes in and begins to attack.
In my violent struggle, I hurl curses at the top of my lungs, which must cause some commotion, because suddenly a complete stranger appears and begins fighting by my side.
Now, I know this guy came in here to help but, no matter how hard I try, I can’t take my eyes off of that hat...
“Just one second...” I say between receiving blows,
“...what's your stance on …abortion??”
“Excuse me???” he exclaimed.
I wheezed while the intruder dug his thumbs deeper into my larynx,
“What's your stance on ...immigration!??”
Well, I couldn't believe my ears.
“Get out!!!” I seethed between blows.
It could have been the nerve of that guy walking in here wearing that hat, but I suddenly had the strength I needed to fling my attacker right out my front door.
Minutes later, through the haze of my nearly blacked out state, I noticed someone else in the room.
There in the corner, phone in hand, recording the whole ordeal, was my best friend.
“Have you been there the whole time?” I asked.
“Yes” he said.
“Why didn't you do something?”
“The footage.” he said, “my algorithms are going to go through the roof.”
I could take some time here, to ask which one of them I’d want by my side, as I make my way through these crazy times.
I could even point out how this is a modern-day version of, “divide and conquer” and how once again, we’ve failed to notice.
But I won't.
“If what's being spread is false, then it's not free speech”…
Btw, have you seen the Erickson Technique that explains how to structure a sentence so it has a hypnotic effect? Just checking…
Thanks for reading.
*special thanks to Sophie Pisces and Kerasia Stone.
If this work is meaningful to you, I invite you to subscribe. It’s free.