As I said in my last post I would look at the top 5 freedoms that people say are happening in a USA poll. 

Of course right up there at number one is freedom of speech. I have done a little searching and what I see most is political correct speech is not being threatened. The right to be nasty to someone, the right to say that forest fires are caused by Jewish Lasers, the right to say that Democrats are pedophiles and that Hillary eats little girls.  The right to lie is under attack. I don’t mind that ridiculous hate speech is under attack but what worries me is who are the cops? Who are the ones that say that is not acceptable? When it comes to my life only I can say what offends me what does not. I found this website that I read a couple dozen people explain their thoughts on the  way free speech was under attack. Each one was a I hope you take the time to read through a few of these and you will see what I mean.

Now, a lot of people point to social media to be the biggest offender to freedom of speech. Now most of social media companies are just that, companies. They are not subject to the freedom of speech rights that you and I hold so dear. Is that good or bad? I don’t know. Probably both. I have been put in Facebook jail more than once and I think that what I write is mild. I do my time then go about my business like nothing happened. Now we must remember that social media can be a powerful tool that has done great harm to some of our youth. Bullying on social media has led to the suicide of some of our fragile youth. Would we want to restrict that? Should we want to allow bullying on social media to be protected? Sometimes a mean word is more powerful than a punch to the face. Now that punch to the face is not protected as free speech.  When the 1^st amendment was written social media was not even a dream in our forefathers head so how could they have written something to protect it. Before social media one of the best places to socialize was at your local tavern. If you were belligerent at your local tavern the bartender could kick you out and told you not to come back until you sobered up. If you continued to be belligerent every day they had the right to kick you out and tell you to never come back. Was that tavern violating your free speech? Maybe we have to think of Social Media as one big tavern. One thing I do think that is bad about social media is the fact that too many politicians use it to lie to the American people. They use it so they do not have to answer the tough question that a good reporter may ask. If we have to fact check our Presidents we have a real problem. I would not feel bad at all if social media was taken away from all politicians and they would have to communicate with us the old fashion way, by talking. My father ran for alderman many years ago and he went door to door talking to people. Not enough do that anymore. They let social media do their walking for them.

You hear about the cancel culture and how it is destroying free speech. Both the right and the left are pretty much in agreement with that. I do feel that it is a very over used phrase of something that has been happening for a long time but because of social media it has taken on a new life.  I have not watched a Clint Eastwood movie since he talked to the chair at the 2012 Republican National Convention. Every time I see him,  what I see is him talking to that chair. Is that Cancel Culture? I don’t think it is. Now if I would go on Twitter and say that the USA Network is showing a Clint Eastwood movie so lets boycott the USA Network that is probably Cancel Culture. It is always a person’s choice what to watch and what to listen to. Most of us guys have been using our remotes for the TV just that way.  When you begin to force that choice on others is where a person may cross the line. Now I have a remote and I am free to change the channel any time I please. I can block anyone on Facebook I please. Where I would be crossing the line is trying to take control of someone else’s remote or take control of someone else’s account. I am pretty sure that the city of Montgomery now would say that Rosa Parks refusal to give up her seat to a white man which started that Bus boycott was cancel culture. Sometimes you have to cancel culture to correct it. We cannot let people not be accountable for their actions because they cry Cancel Culture. Cancel Culture did not get the My Pillow guy in trouble. Lying did. Supporting an insurrection did. It is simple physics, action / reaction. People still must be held accountable for their actions.

We have so many ways to express our free speech. I have a Facebook account and a Twitter account Sure we have to follow the rules but there are rules everywhere in life. It is when the government begins to attack the press and their right to the truth is where the real danger is. They are our watchdogs. I do not watch Fox News and I don’t watch CNN. I mostly read my news and make up my own mind. When I see a politician that has been recorded talking about grabbing pussy and then call it fake news I cringe. I cringe even more when other people then quote them. With all the digital evidence out there that will outlive all of us we must search for the truth. One of the problems is that we are too lazy to do it so we just run with our prejudices