Columns

Army Bob: What happened to old liberals, free speech?

by Robert M. Traxler

Environmental injustice: Is it the most important issue of our time? Is social injustice the major issue of our time? Is distributive injustice the most important issue of our time? Is procedural injustice the most important issue of our time?

Economic, educational, wage, health care, housing, food, water, internet access, transportation, carbon, and more are the most important issues of our time.  We quickly get the impression that “life is not fair;” what a revelation, a great oracle of our time should write that one down.

Try to find out what “social justice” is, and you find as many definitions as you do for the Green New Deal. The leftists are for fairness; not so fast, fairness of outcome yes, freedom of opportunity not so much. Equality is equal opportunity; equity is equal outcome.

The American liberals joining in with socialists and leftists to ban free speech; never in a lifetime did I ever think the liberal folks would call for the death of free speech. Have you noticed how mute the liberals have been on the censorship, blackballing and canceling of free speech? Terrified of the cancel culture and the sometimes-violent self-appointed judges of “just speech,” they are complicit in the crime of censorship of political speech, the most protected of our freedoms.

Scrolling through cable listings I saw the old TV series “Car 54 Where Are You?” Today the question is liberals, true old-fashioned liberals who for a century were the champions of free speech and the First Amendment to the Constitution, where are you? The good folks who comment in this column will of course blame President Trump, and say such things as they do not like what people say, so they must cheer the death of free speech for our own good. Folks, you cannot make this stuff up.

Liberals turning a blind eye to billionaires canceling and censoring free speech to ingratiate themselves with The Peoples Republic of China so they can get even richer is not an action of a liberal; leftist yes, liberal no. Liberals calling for the elimination of fair-trade controls on China, eliminating good union manufacturing jobs in our nation, is downright strange and not liberal.

Liberals of old who prided themselves on questioning authority, standing up to the rich and powerful today are AWO (absent without outrage), even absent without questions. Members of the liberal media, a time-tested bastion of free speech, are now trying to remove differing opinions from the airwaves.

In the few instances, very few, when asked why the media is calling for the elimination of FOX News, they justified the call not to merely censor different opinion, but eliminate it altogether, by maintaining it, is a business decision. It could very well be a business decision, but think that over for a second — liberals censoring for profit? Liberals selling their soul for a few pieces of silver, or today, Bit Coin?

The left is outraged that we are a divided nation, the most divided we have ever been. Perhaps 800,000 dead American soldiers, Union and Confederate, (9,000,000 normed for today’s population) and 1,000,000 dead Southern civilians (normed for population today) may differ with that. We are divided because we have different views; in a republic that is the normal way of things. In a national socialist dictatorship dissent is not allowed.

In a free nation dissent is allowed, even respected; today it is not shouted down in the public square of old, but not even allowed in the electronic public square, and by of all people, American liberals/progressives. Never thought we would see this day, pigs flying, cows jumping over the moon and its turning blue.

The new norm is the left outspending the right three to one in an election using millions from the rich and powerful, and hiding the fact from the general public by not reporting it in the mainstream media. Millions (bordering on a billion) from big tech, Amazon, Apple, Google and Microsoft, Bezos, Pichai, Schmidt and Zuckerburg to name a few, and liberals are as quiet as the proverbial church mouse about it?

A billion to pay the left to lift trade restrictions on China, a great investment for the robber barons of the early 21st century. Where are the progressives of the late 19th century who broke up monopolies and opposed the robber barons? Paid off and quiet, and terrified of the socialist cancel culture of the 21st. My opinion.

10 Comments

  • They call the other side Nazis, but ironically they do pretty much exactly what real, actual Nazis did to get control of Germany. Unions, thugs in the streets, media and business all got in bed with a political party to choose a “winner”. Opposition was systematically attacked and silenced. As we all know, the result there was epic tyranny where no one dared publicly stand up in opposition. I am not a particularly religious person, but may God help us of we continue down this path.

    https://time.com/5936036/secret-2020-election-campaign/

    We live in truly dark times. Free speech no longer means “all speech” and censorship has been effectively outsourced to big tech. The article link above shows the left literally bragging about the alliance of tech, global business, unions and leftist organizations to exploit a pandemic to manipulation and distortion of laws, people and Govenment entities to defeat a President. The election absolutely wasn’t stolen, it was purchased.

    I never thought I would live in a country where replying to your little article would cause me to fear having my life and/or career destroyed because of expressing an opinion, but that is what we have come to.

  • MacDougal,
    Thanks for the comment.
    Agree with you that we fear destruction at the hands of the thought police. I visit left and right radical sites to prep for this column, will the social media police come after us as radicals, not for actions but thoughts? Orwell was correct, we have “Thoughtcrime”.
    Thanks again.

    • Do you find it kind of interesting that China has outlawed speech against the government and that Trump is going to impeachment trial for speaking against the voting process and inciting a riot against our government by asking protestors to peacefully make your voices heard at the capitol? How long will it be before any of us can be arrested for protesting and speaking out against the government?

  • Liberals and Democrats have all turned into Marxists. Not too hard to figure that out…. BLM, Antifa all supported by the Left.

  • Army Bob
    I believe the “old liberals ” are almost extinct. What once was the Democratic Party has fallen to be replaced with ideologies of Socialism, Marxism, and a bit of Communism.
    The Republican Party seems to be a touch “unstable ” since the incident in January. If unity cannot be established quickly we are destined for some form of Socialist /Communistic/Marxist government .

  • Goodness gracious, look at all the old white guys complaining about how they’re victims. So much victimization at the hands of some vague, indecipherable boogeyman they call “socialism.” I think you all just mean healthcare and education, correct? That’s the “socialism” you’re all scared of, correct? Healthcare and education is coming for you. It’s gonna get you. And you all need this ever-present boogeyman to sleep comfortably at night. How ironic.

    But seriously, you’ve all still got your free speech 100%, and every single one of you old white guys knows this. Kinda makes this whole column moot, though.

    At least it’s encouraging (if not downright perplexing) to see trumpees across America pulling a 180 and coming out against Citizen’s United! Good for you all on that.

    • Mr. Guess,
      It’s called the Constitition of the United States of America please read it.
      Thanks for the comment.

  • Mr Gless
    Since the United States is most accurately described as a Constitutional federal republic. The government forms of Socialism, Marxism and Communism are not ” boogeymen” but a real threat to our form of government.
    Have you ever asked why do people from Socialist ,Marxist, and Communist countries want to enter the United States?
    Isn’t it possible a Constitutional Federal Republic is much better than the Country they are fleeing from.
    Sir,…. Socialism, Marxism and Communism are a real threat to the United States.
    Make fun of the ” Old white guys” ….but most if not all fought Socialism, Marxism and Communism to keep the United States free.

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