FREE SPEECH
By Charles Kocian
Elon Musk bought Twitter and said: “Let the good times roll,” and “the bird is freed”. He fired top executives immediately but the bird is still not flying and probably will not. Hope I am wrong.
Elon Musk has been critical with Twitter’s management and its moderation policies. He accused it of providing misleading information about the firm’s user numbers. He also promised to reverse bans on suspended users including Donald Trump account.
For main stream media Musk’s vision about Twitter “as a public town square” is outdated because, they say, it doesn’t take into account the real world. But, what world? What reality?
If we were in the XVI century would be asking: Galileo’s version of the world? The Inquisition’s version of the world? Were both truth at the same time? Today we know the Inquisition was wrong and also wrong of punishing Galileo to express his thoughts.
Twitter suspended free speech of famous people.
“I think it’s very important for there to be an inclusive arena for free speech,” Elon Musk said during a TED interview adding that “Twitter has become kind of the de facto town square, so it’s just really important that people have the, both the reality and the perception that they are able to speak freely within the bounds of the law.”
In all ages, State Propaganda has been carefully designed to preserve the ruler’s interests. It is used in education, geopolitical and economic affairs to spread irrational cultural premises.
Are main stream news state propaganda?
During the Renaissance a Black Legend appeared. It was a theorised historiographical anti-Spanish and anti-Catholic propaganda used to demonize the Spanish Empire, its people and its culture. It occurred when European powers where in war in the 16th century. This propaganda found its basis in real events that occurred in Spain and its colonization of the Americas, which involved atrocities. But this Legend exaggerated Spanish depictions of violence and ignored the similar behaviour of its rivals, something similar with the war in Ukraine.
One of the books of the Black Legend.
The Spanish Black Legend’s books denounced de-contextualization, exaggeration and double standards with facts and, until today, the disagreement continues among scholars.
This is just one example of Renaissance propaganda to change facts and use it as a geopolitical weapon. Obviously, nation’s rulers of all ages need to propagate their stories to gain public opinion because they can’t rule without their consent. That is why they fear free speech. Was ancient Athens an exception?
Socrates death.
Not for Socrates who was killed of expressing his thoughts. He was accused of corrupting the youth, failing to acknowledge the gods and introducing new ones.
Its death sentence derived from asking politico-philosophic questions to his students, which resulted in the two accusations of moral corruption and impiety.
From an evolutionist point of view, I think homo-erectus rulers has always been against free speech using propaganda to wash ruled brains. They want to rule brain-washed-sheep not lions who can think by themselves. Today’s sophisticated propaganda is through social media, including art and Twitter; yesterday was simpler, through architecture, pottery and art.
Ancient Greek Propaganda.
Athenians believed that free speech could unravel democracy itself. Plato didn’t believe in democracy because he thought that ignorant people could be easily manipulated with Sophist fallacies. Sophists were not interested to educate about objective truths but rhetoric skills, and they did it just to make a living. The Sophists were teaching rhetoric to future politicians, including how to use fallacies, to gain and maintain its political power.
School of Athens.
We know that politics and religion were not separated until recent times and it was used by the rulers to shape the thoughts of the ruled. But, under what standard?
Ancient civilizations and its standards have ended; people of all ages have been silenced, like Socrates, Galileo and Trump. The Bronze age disappeared; our civilization can disappear in a thermonuclear imminent war but, if humanity survives and aspires to become an advanced civilization, any genius like Galileo, normal person or crazy fanatic should be able to express its thoughts with the condition to don’t silence other people or initiate force against them, especially if they are saying nonsense, as the Vatican thought with Galileo.
The collapse of civilization without Twitter.
CONCLUSION
My conclusion is that the future for civilization depends on education but not from the state. Parents should educate their children at home after they educate themselves by themselves. The proof of homo-erectus evolution towards a civilization of reason would be of educated man, capable of rational debate to understand a thought different to its own without the necessity of accepting it.
THE RIGHT TO DISAGREE IS A SIGN OF AN EDUCATED CIVILIZATION.
Now answer to question 23.
QUESTION N° 23
Today, censorship and propaganda doesn’t exist.
a) True
b) False
The answer is: false.
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