Free Speech & Lockdowns: Part II
It’s been going around the internet as satire that Joe Biden and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau are freezing the bank accounts of Chinese protestors. This is obviously untrue, but it’s startling that it’s close enough to reality for satire.
What is true is that the Biden administration continues to attack free speech and involve itself in areas that are far outside of its Constitutional jurisdiction. Case and point are the White House statements yesterday regarding Twitter’s management and the “danger” of free speech on social media, alongside threats from many powerful liberal politicians.
While Chinese protestors take to the street to decry censorship and lockdowns in their country, our own government moves closer to social and economic control.
The White House is actively working to restrict our freedom in both public and private venues – and mainstream media is standing behind them.
The saga of Hunter Biden’s laptop clearly shows that the government influences and prejudices the management of social media. It also proved how willing mainstream media is to accept the government’s narrative. Rather than “speaking truth to power,” as reporters often say to tout themselves, the media is instead “keeping truth from power.”
The American people are trustworthy and smart enough to make their own decisions for their lives; to discuss controversial issues and decide what they believe on their own; to plan and accomplish their own economic goals. Regardless of how anyone feels about it: It is our Right to do so. Any interference is a violation of the Constitution and a legitimate threat to our freedom and prosperity.
The Chinese Communist Party holds a very different view, wherein society requires a guiding hand to decide what’s best for them, in order to protect and prosper them. How much of that is rhetoric or true belief is anyone’s guess, but it's clear that they’re willing to kill for it. And now this same ideology is being pushed by liberal progressives – and the White House! It’s also the sentiment we heard from Josh Green and Rick Blangiardi during the lockdowns.
We’re beginning to sound a lot like China.
This is what happens when the economy and the government become intertwined: Control of society becomes automatic.
I’ve long argued that the reliance of so many Americans to share and receive information on social media has made these platforms part of a literal “public square.” This would mean that these platforms are covered by the First Amendment, and place limitations on what these platforms can restrict. Ironically, the White House seems to agree with part of my premise, but instead wants to restrict freedom.
Urgency is greater than ever, as technology has enabled oppression with the flip of a switch. In one click, automated processes can freeze bank accounts, disable social media access, and restrict internet searches. China is only a few steps ahead of the United States, as implementing these controls can literally be done overnight. We MUST keep the government as far away from that switch as possible.
Elon Musk is leading the fight for freedom of speech on social media, using his incredible wealth to re-balance the system. While we certainly don’t see eye-to-eye with Elon Musk on everything (which is absolutely okay in a free country), he understands the importance and urgency of free speech.
Despite all of the threats from liberals and many in the government – and despite the loss of revenue from large corporations pulling their ads – Elon Musk is returning free speech to Twitter’s “public square.”
Unfortunately, Elon Musk is meeting his match from other very wealthy and powerful tech moguls and corporations. Apple has deleted its Twitter account, and together with Google are threatening to remove Twitter from their devices. Ironically, this is happening while Apple’s iPhone factory is caught up in the protests and shut down by the Chinese government.
It’s been revealed that Apple has limited the use of data sharing in China on AirDrop, which has been used by protestors to avoid censorship. This is completely unacceptable coordination with the Communist government and a betrayal of Apple’s Chinese customers. This also brings Apple’s claims of security and encryption on iPhone’s into question: What else are they willing to give up to tyrannical governments?
Coming full circle, we must be vigilant about what comes through our State Legislature and in our counties. More control over free speech and our companies is coming. Governor Josh Green and Honolulu County Mayor Rick Blangiardi have already shown how many lines they’ll cross – we should expect them to cross many more.
Hawaiʻi is a liberal testing ground. It’s up to us to stop this in its tracks – and reverse course!
As I said in Part I of this article, Hawaiʻi Conservatives will consistently update you on how you can get in the fight, from bills in the legislature to public testimony opportunities, protests, events, and more.
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