Censorship

     Censorship  should not be allowed in America.  EVERYONE is entitled to their own thoughts and their own speech.  There are all kinds of jerks out there that really are cruel and crude.  But then there are also all kinds of people who get truly upset at the drop of a pin.  In life there are all sorts of extremes.  There are also incredible acts of kindness and love for mankind and animalkind and the earth and air and space.  Life is beautiful . . .  And messy.  You can't please everybody all the time.  You will lose yourself if you try.  There are all sorts of religions (and non-religions).  There are way more religious people on this earth than there are non-religious.  To us religious people, our spiritual beliefs are paramount.  We are more concerned with what our GOD thinks than what society thinks.  We cannot excuse bad behavior, but we also cannot blame the rest of society for the abysmal behavior on a few, or one.  We need to bring up our children with better moral judgement and acceptance.

     That being said, there is a spirit coming over all humanity the world over that wants only their voice and philosophy to be heard and all opposition to be silenced.  If you are muslim, you want everyone else silenced.  If you are black, you want everyone else silenced.  If you are liberal, you want every one else silenced.  If you are progressive, you want everyone else silenced.  If you are anti-gun you want everyone else silenced.  If you are pro-gun, you want everyone else silenced.  There are over 42,000 different christian denominations and each one thinks they are right and everyone else is wrong.  Jews dislike christians (in general, not totally) and vice-versa for christans about Jews (again, not all the time).  You build walls or fences around your property to keep the neighbors and their dogs out of your yard.  It doesn't matter what you are thinking, someone out there disagrees with it.  And it's getting out of hand.

     Whatever happened to active conversations and agreement to disagree agreeably?  The spirit that is enveloping the earth right now is not only unfriendly but it's getting angrier.  It demands submission.  It demands reparations.  There are as many points of views as there are people on this earth.  So who decides whose voice is tolerated and whose voice is not?  Whose philosophy is tolerated and whose philosophy is not?  Are the powers to be so overwhelmed by this decision that they have to relegate this decision to an unfeeling computer program?  But a computer program is written by a mere human being.  This is a decision that only a god would be qualified to implement.

     This is why, out of all the countries on this earth, our founding fathers in America wrote the Declaration of Independence.  Read this excerpt:

"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.— That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed,—  That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation  on such principles  and organizing  its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety  and Happiness."

     On this earth are currently (or close to) 7 billion people.  And one thing we all have in common is the sovereignty of each of our individual personages.  There is not one person or group of people that has the right to tell everybody else what to think, say, or do forcefully.  Censorship is forced compliance.

     Facebook is trying to say they know what is good for everybody by denying the rights of others.  It is an impossible conundrum.  No matter what they disallow they are squelching somebody's rights.  If you don't like the post you are reading, you have the right to ignore it.  But you have the control.  To get angry and cause someone else to lose their right of expression is tantamount to murder.  Think about it: you are silencing a sentient human being.  If you cannot contain yourself and act with self-control you cause the situation where Facebook and every other agency feels compelled to take over and tell ALL OF US, INCLUDING YOU, what to think and say and do.

     I would hope that Facebook and others et al would seriously reconsider this censorship idea.  No matter what is censored, it causes free thought and free expression to die.

Copyright © Linda Rosenbaugh