Surviving Capitalism (Not) : What is the Point of Freedom of Speech When There is No Freedom of Thought?

We’ve lived so long under the spell of hierarchy—from god-kings to feudal lords to party bosses—that only recently have we awakened to see not only that “regular” citizens have the capacity for self-governance, but that without their engagement our huge global crises cannot be addressed. The changes needed for human society simply to survive, let alone thrive, are so profound that the only way we will move toward them is if we ourselves, regular citizens, feel meaningful ownership of solutions through direct engagement. Our problems are too big, interrelated, and pervasive to yield to directives from on high.
—Frances Moore Lappé, excerpt from Time for Progressives to Grow Up

Wednesday, November 14, 2018

What is the Point of Freedom of Speech When There is No Freedom of Thought?

Click here to access article by Sofo Archon from The Greanville Post.

He writes with insight about the illusion of freedom of speech:

How much of a freethinker do you think you actually are? The majority of people aren’t much: Their ideas and opinions on the most important issues in life don’t sprout from their own personal experience and understanding, but are just a result of the conditioning they had to undergo during their upbringing. In other words, they have been brainwashed to accept and follow dogmas that were forced upon them by tradition through — just to name a few examples — school, religion, and the mainstream media.

Give this a thought: If your thinking is actually controlled and bounded within a tiny mental box, how much freedom of speech and expression do you actually possess?

We are social creatures, so we learn about life from each other. But, what if nearly all of us ordinary people are fed information from a source that controls in a self-serving fashion all information? Well, I am absolutely convinced that we live in a society that is in very large measure controlled by a ruling class consisting of very powerful and rich capitalists. Peruse all the articles written by independent thinkers I've collected and posted over the past nine years to see if you aren't also convinced of this. So what is the freedom of speech worth in such a society? The author is right that the much vaunted freedom of speech we supposedly enjoy is just another foolish illusion.

The stark reality is that we live in a society where nearly all information is controlled by people who are rich and powerful mostly at our expense and sacrifice. Do you think they want you to be informed of this reality? That is why we are witnessing more and more control over information we receive and censorship of information that this class of people do not want us to think about. Many independent and dissident websites have lost so many viewers/readers because of this censorship. For the latest example, see this.