First, Suppress Freedom of Speech

The Road to Totalitarianism

“Without freedom of thought, there can be no such thing as wisdom - and no such thing as public liberty without freedom of speech.” 

- Benjamin Franklin

In one short sentence, Benjamin Franklin captured the essence and ingredients of an ideal, prosperous, secure and just society:

• an abundance of needed wisdom resulting from the freedom of all citizens to think without restrictions, constraints, threats or duress

• free-flowing communication of wisdom, philosophy, ideas and opinions with no restrictions or censorship, which in turn generates even more wisdom and ideas

• liberty to live as free beings and pursue one’s dreams and ideal life

Liberty, wisdom, prosperity, a just society, security, pursuit of happiness - all made possible by freedoms of thought and speech, two sides of the same coin.

So freedom of speech is THE most important freedom of all, and one guaranteed in the US by the 1st Amendment (1A) to the Constitution.

Ben Franklin once again:

“Whoever would overthrow the liberty of a nation must begin by subduing the freeness of speech.”

"Freedom of speech is a principal pillar of a free government; when this support is taken away, the constitution of a free society is dissolved, and tyranny is erected on its ruins. Republics derive their strength and vigor from a popular examination into the action of the magistrates."

Not only are these statements crystal clear and definitive, they are 100% accurate and amazingly brilliant.

Then there’s this from George Washington:

“For if men are to be precluded from offering their sentiments on a matter, which may involve the most serious and alarming consequences, that can invite the consideration of mankind, reason is of no use to us; the freedom of speech may be taken away, and dumb and silent we may be led, like sheep, to the slaughter.”

Let’s hear from Thomas Jefferson, my personal favorite Founding Father and one of the greatest statesmen in earth’s history:

“Reason and free inquiry are the only effectual agents against error.”

We all know how error prone governments are. In fact, governments - EVERY government - specialize in committing errors and causing unintended, negative, harmful consequences. Governments cause far more harm than benefit.

In order to minimize government errors and rectify them, citizens must be allowed to use their reason (freedom of thought) and inquire as to what government is doing (freedom of speech).

The US federal government - and a few state governments - have been restricting free speech more and more. Censorship is growing like wildfire from our government - as well as from many powerful, super-wealthy individuals in the world comprising the upper 1/10 of 1% of the population in terms of wealth and resources, who have great influence with governments and all social and news media.

What is incredible to me, a significant percentage of American citizens either aren’t aware that our government is working hard to restrict and suppress 1A, or actually SUPPORT and AGREE WITH censorship.

Freedom of speech has been steadily and increasingly curtailed and is on its way to being canceled in the US by a government that has unconstitutionally seized more and more power. The US federal government is on the path to being a totalitarian regime - and too few citizens are aware of this.

Shockingly (to me at least), a significant percentage of American citizens are OK with this violation of the Constitution and American spirit and ideal.

The US is being driven off the cliff into totalitarianism, fascism and a modern feudalism by the federal government. This might or might not be real to the reader. How to prove my statement?

Read what the Constitution states as to how the government is SUPPOSED to operate. Then look at all federal government executive orders, laws and actions the past 100 years. Now compare the two. No resemblance, and the disparity grows year after year. The federal government has become an all-consuming monster. But it has grown into a monster gradually over a 100+ year period, so gradually that most people haven’t noticed.

In 1951, Supreme Court Justice William O. Douglas stated:

“Restriction of free thought and free speech is the most dangerous of all subversions. It is the one un-American act that could most easily defeat us.”

He was right on target. It is the #1 reason the US is being driven off the cliff into totalitarianism, fascism and a modern feudalism by the federal government. The US is being defeated internally by a government that has dismissed the Constriction and trampled our Bill of Rights freedoms - aided and abetted by a few dozen extremely influential and wealthy individuals around the world.

AND TOO FEW AMERICAN CITIZENS ARE AWARE OF OR EVEN CARE THAT THIS IS HAPPENING!

My rough estimate is that only 15-20% of the US population is aware of what is written in this article, and even fewer oppose this unconstitutional seizure of power by the federal government. The actual percentages could be a little higher or lower, but not by much.

The federal government has been censoring, suppressing and silencing dissenting voices more and more as time goes on. They are restricting freedom of speech as they like, with no regard for the Constitution, Bill of Rights or Rule of Law.

Anyone who exposes or opposes a government program, agenda or operation that goes against the Constitution - or is not in the best interests of citizens - is targeted, falsely discredited and even attacked through legal and financial means. All in violation of the spirit of the Constitution, Bill of Rights and fundamental freedoms as expressed above by various statesmen.

in 1950, President Harry Truman said

“Once a government is committed to the principle of silencing the voice of opposition, it has only one place to go, and that is down the path of increasingly repressive measures, until it becomes a source of terror to all its citizens and creates a country where everyone lives in fear.”

This is EXACTLY what is happening in the US today. Again, this might or might not be real to the reader. But the federal government has brought its police power to bear on any citizen it deems “dangerous” - dangerous defined by the government as anyone who exposes or opposes any unconstitutional or corrupt actions and agendas committed by that very same government.

And that police power is massive - the FBI, DOJ, IRS, unlimited money and influence to generate attacks in the media and so on. The power of the federal government is enormous when brought to bear on an individual.

And the US government has shown it is all too willing to use that power unconstitutionally and unjustly against anyone it considers a “danger” or a “threat” - not a threat or danger against the nation and its citizens, but against government corruption, criminality and even outright treason.

So corruption, criminality and treason within the US government has grown exponentially, and is now out of control.

"The First Amendment's protections belong to all, not just to speakers whose motives the government finds worthy." - Justice Neil Gorsuch

“I may disagree with what you have to say, but shall defend, to the death, your right to say it.” - Voltaire

Unfortunately, the US government doesn’t agree. Just the opposite, this current government is fascist when it comes to disagreement, dissent and free speech.

"A nation that is afraid to let its people judge truth and falsehood in an open market is a nation that is afraid of its own people." - JFK

That’s another true and on-target statement, one which has come to pass today. The vast majority of people won’t speak up or speak out against any government narratives, corruption or wrong actions out of fear - fear of legal threats, loss of reputation, loss of jobs and income, being shamed or “cancelled” and so on.

There is an ongoing legal case against the federal government - Missouri v. Biden. This case is about unconstitutional government censorship. Judge Terry Doughty issued this ruling:

“This case is about the Free Speech Clause in the First Amendment to the US Constitution. The explosion of social-media platforms has resulted in unique free speech issues - this is especially true in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. If the allegations made by Plaintiffs are true, the present case arguably involves the most massive attack against free speech in United States’ history. In their attempts to suppress alleged disinformation, the Federal Government, and particularly the Defendants named here, are alleged to have blatantly ignored the First Amendment’s right to free speech. Although the censorship alleged in this case almost exclusively targeted conservative speech, the issues raised herein go beyond party lines. The right to free speech is not a member of any political party and does not hold any political ideology.”

Judge Doughty is completely correct and made the right ruling. His decision is based on the Constitution, as it should be. (An appeals court disagreed, but this case will go to the Supreme Court which will most likely uphold Judge Doughty’s decision.)

Conclusion

The US federal government has seized unconstitutional power and is on the path to being a totalitarian regime - while dismantling the constitutional republic, Bill of Rights freedoms and the Rule of Law.

Their approach to achieving totalitarianism is a blatant disregard and dismissal of the Bill of Rights and the freedoms those convey. The 1st Amendment (1A) is the one most targeted by government. 1A contains the most fundamental of our rights and freedoms.

In particular, freedom of speech is being censored, suppressed and attacked. The end result is what the statesmen quoted in this article warned about.

The road to totalitarianism begins and ends with suppressing and censoring freedom of speech and the right to dissent.

Solution

More and more citizens must be educated about their rights and responsibilities provided by the Constitution and Bill of Rights.

We must get organized to expose and oppose government corruption ad abuses of power. There is enormous power in numbers. A few million citizens working together and communicating their thoughts and ideas will produce terrific results. Even a government as powerful as ours can’t withstand millions of people speaking as one voice, preserving our constitutional rights.

Abraham Lincoln gives us the key:

“We the people are the rightful masters of both Congress and the courts, not to overthrow the Constitution but to overthrow the men who pervert the Constitution.”

We the People have the power. It’s time we use it.