Freedom and Censorship

“To understand political power right, and derive it from its original, we must consider, what state all men are naturally in, and that is, a state of perfect freedom to order their actions, and dispose of their possessions and persons, as they think fit, within the bounds of the law of nature, without asking leave, or depending upon the will of any other man.” ~ John Locke

Twitter has chosen to lock me out of my account for this tweet. It took me a moment to figure out what they found objectionable about it.  I think it is the reference to spike proteins being shed by the newly vaccinated. 

Now, this tweet was a humorous and light hearted reply to a tweet by @thevivafrei who tweeted something like 'I would drink from the glass of an unvaccinated person.'. (Obviously I cannot quote the tweet exactly because I can't get onto Twitter to see it.) I took his tweet as a light hearted and humorous way to address the growing demonization of the unvaccinated. Humor is often the best way to address a problem in society. 

Big Tech has decided to censor anything it doesn't approve of the public seeing. In their opinion, adults should not be given access to serious discussions because they might be deceived. 
 

Think about that. We live in AMERICA. Our nation depends on a personally responsible, free people to have an informed vote. Because, as citizens, you and I have a duty to have an informed vote. It isn't perfect, but nothing is. (If we neglect to engage in that duty, well, we will always have the government that we deserve ... and here we are.) How can we have an informed vote if the social media platforms though which most people are now getting their news are playing God with what information we are allowed to see? 

This isn't new. Anyone who remembers the advent of Google as a search engine probably remembers other search engines. They were slower, but more likely to get you to your goal eventually. I remember when Google was introduced. I hated it. The results were almost never what I was looking for - because their handy, dandy algorithms were constantly giving me an amalgamation of the most "successful" results from other searches using the same terms. Because that's what the algorithms are made to do. That's how Google got faster results - by turning internet searches into a "cookie cutter" system. And, if someone wasn't searching for those results, well they could search again using different terms - right? 

That was a form of censorship too. But it was a soft censorship that we accepted for the sake of speed and convenience. (Or at least the rest of the world did. I stuck with infoseek and askjeeves until they went away.) That gradually morphed into actually hiding stories that someone didn't want people to see. Then it was discovered that there are those who actively work to revise history and wipe things that used to be available. The obama administration were masters of this. There are some articles I read that I cannot find even on the wayback machine.  I know they exist, I would often do my best to copy them, taking a screenshot wasn't a thing back then, but I can't figure out how to get them to display now so it's a wash.) 

This is different. This is dangerous. Because we need an informed opinion to make good decisions. Big Tech censored the Hunter Biden story before the election. They now censor any covid data or opinions that do not march in lockstep with what the government puts out. And they promote stories to achieve their political ends - whether or not they are true. Because they think they know how and what we should think. Because they think they are the good guys. That's a pathway to tyranny. And here we are. They are quite open about their censorship now and there is very little pushback that can affect them. These companies have more money than is good for anyone and they have armies of lawyers to protect themselves or destroy anyone who has a serious chance of doing them damage.

I was locked out of my Twitter account because I humorously referenced a forbidden theory about covid 19 vaccines. The theory that spike proteins might be shed by the newly vaccinated. (Or it may have been the reference to the Swedish study but that has an actual study to go with it rather than just speculation. The last time I checked, speculation wasn't illegal or immoral and has a place in any serious discussion about the unknown. How many scientific discoveries and inventions started out as speculation?) I was locked out because there is such a monstrous push to manipulate the population into getting vaccinated that it has created a climate in which the unvaccinated are being demonized. 

In some nations the unvaccinated are not allowed to shop or travel or attend a concert. Governments are forcing people to accept this medical treatment - with an experimental medical product with no long term studies and no liability for the manufacturers. The CDC and on-line dictionaries changed their definitions of the word "vaccine" in order to make it seem like these medical products are the same sort of things as the vaccines for measles or polio when they are not. How much influence does that have in  confirming a tendency towards normalization bias? "Well the definition here says it counts as a vaccine, so I guess those people who were saying that it isn't must be crazy"

It is as though the world has forgotten the lessons we should have learned from thalidomide babies and DES daughters. It's madness.

So, will I delete this Tweet for the privilege of remaining on Twitter? My son, a working musician left Twitter a few years back because "Mom, Twitter is a cesspit and I'm just tired of it." Many of my imaginary friends (which is how I refer to those with whom I have developed an on line relationship but never met in person) have either left or been kicked off of Twitter already. I had been considering leaving, but decided that I would be abandoning the field in the middle of the battle - so to speak - should I do so. ( I know that there are many people who have been given the boot who simply created a new account but that's weasel behavior in which I am disinclined to engage.)

I also had some concerns for the creators of the videos I tend to share - like the folks at BillWhittle.com and The Daily Wire as well as Mr. Crowder (Although I don't share as many of his because he uses a lot of foul language and I just don't like to share that. I will share a video with foul language if I think it is relevant to the discussion of the day, but if not I don't.) Although I do not think I have a large reach, my sharing of the videos IS to share them with others and one of the ways I do that is through Twitter.

There are also apologetics channels and various church services that I share because I like to think it plays a small role in spreading the gospel as well as things I just find interesting or entertaining. I also share my photography through Twitter, so that will be annoying if they decide not to unlock my account, but, whatever the devil can offer, God can give you more. 

Serendipitously, PJ Media ran an article just 5 days ago that makes me feel better about the people whose content I am in the habit of sharing on Twitter.  One of the things it said was this:

"But PJ Media has been at war with Twitter now for nearly a month, and guess what: Our traffic hasn’t been affected one whit.

People don’t go to Twitter to actually find, read, and share the news. They go there for (at best) small talk, and at worst, for shouting down their political opponents."

So, in the end, I think I will not remove the tweet. If I remain locked out, well then, I shall have a few more minutes of free time. I will miss those who have occasionally brightened my day with a witty or humorous post and I might miss the views of my photography since ClickASnap actually pays the photographer when someone looks at one of their photos for at least 5 seconds,[unless you are looking at them with Facebook's mobile app because facebook doesn't really take you to the site, they keep you in Facebook somehow so the view doesn't register.] but I will trust that the Lord can replace those views in some unexpected and wonderful way. And, who knows? I may even start writing on this blog again instead of just posting videos after I watch them as I go about my daily routine. 

 Honest discussions often include speculation, humor and downright lies. Indeed, one of the ways many people learn to think critically is by being fooled or discovering that they have been lied to in a discussion. Having been made a fool of through one's own ignorance stings and encourages study so that it won't happen again.  It also encourages moderation and consideration for the opinions of others. It is an essential component of the duties of citizenship in this republic. 

Freedom isn't safe - it's just safer than the alternatives. I don't need social media publishers deciding what I may and may not read, study or discuss as I seek to inform myself and others. 

“Those who expect to reap the benefit of freedom, must, like men, undergo the fatigues of supporting it.” ~ Thomas Paine, Crisis IV, 1777

"Envy thou not the oppressor, and choose none of his ways." ~ Proverbs 3:31