The Right to Free Speech
May 16, 2022
I have been in Twitter jail for the past 4 days for posting something that the twitter police, as I call them, deemed false information. I am now left with 2 days and 19 hours until I am finally free.
I posted an article from a newspaper. I did not comment or highlight anything, and they still decided it violated their standards. My question is what kind of standard do they hold? Obviously, it’s arbitrary and callous as in reality it violated my right of free speech.
Sometimes I wonder how did we get here? Many people have died for our right to freedim of speech, but for the past two years, governments and platforms seem to have abandoned their own core values. They seemed to have silenced anyone that does not conform to their view of the great new world; a laughable proposition if the goal is to keep us all silent and unseen.
The beauty of this current world we live in, is that we are all unique, individual, opinionated and human. Our spirit is free, our love for life is immense and our human connections make us stronger. Our voices together and separately are important to create conversations and ideas that will make this world better.
At times, I don’t agree with everything that others say, but I feel strongly about their right to say it. In science, for example, discourse is necessary for the free flow of ideas and solutions. If we silence even one voice than we are not better than some of the monsters, that will remain unnamed, from our past.
Let us remember that first time we heard a baby speak, the excitement in the faces of the people around, the smile on that baby’s face. Then let us remember the silence from long ago of people who died because others decided they could not speak.
Two extremes, but each shows the importance of each and every voice. My hope is that we will all remember how precious life is and how important is to make our voices heard.
Short term goal…get out of the Twitter jail and remain on the platform while staying true to who I am (let’s see how long I last)
Long term goal…remind others that we are free and no matter how hard they try, they will never silence us all.
As George Washington once said: “If freedom of speech is taken away, then dumb and silent we may be led, like sheep to the slaughter.”
Remember who you are…
Dr. Kat