Tyranny Over the Mind of Man ... What Are They Afraid Of? - Granite Grok

Tyranny Over the Mind of Man … What Are They Afraid Of?

Tyranny

Cancel culture now holds full sway in America. If Jefferson were alive today he would be cancelled; guaranteed. Thomas Jefferson said, “I have sworn upon the altar of God eternal hostility against every form of tyranny over the mind of man.”

The man responsible for crafting the Declaration of Independence might have something to say before being silenced. He might well remind us:

“That we are endowed by our Creator with certain unalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.”

Recently the “Truths That Transform” television program has been shut down. Is it a coincidence that its end comes proximate to the leftist governmental takeover? Probably not. The show applies Biblical truths to the great moral, ethical, and cultural questions of our day. The executives at the network suddenly decided the program content is too “controversial.” Must be a coincidence, right? Maybe not…

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The network objects to the show’s exposé on Planned Parenthood. In it their sale of baby body parts comes from abortions they perform. Their business model was part of the show. Must be a coincidence, right? Maybe not.

The network objects to the exposé on billionaire radical George Soros. It brings focus to his systematic efforts to undermine American laws and institutions. Must be a coincidence, right? Maybe not.

The network even objects to the program on the spiritual life of George Washington. Facts don’t matter… to the network. Must be a coincidence, right? Maybe not.

There are reports from others in the community of Christian broadcasters. They too are hearing from other major cable television channels and networks. The networks are canceling entire blocks of religious programming. This is the new face of corporate responsibility in America. Cancellation is viewpoint discrimination, prior restraint, and outright censorship. This is not America or American. We should all be deeply troubled and speaking out.

Conform

This is spitting in the face of those with viewpoints differing from the new woke orthodoxy. Discrimination by broadcast and cable television is bad enough, but it gets worse. Others providing business services to those holding non-favored viewpoints are piling on.

Even business services are joining in. They feel the need to demonstrate their woke bonafides. They are doing so by denying services to those with the temerity to hold impermissible views. Any views diverging from those permissible under Leftist, Progressive woke-ism may bring cancellation.

A prime example is MailChimp. This easy to use email platform made the following recent change to its “Standard Terms of Use”:

“Mailchimp does not allow the distribution of Content that is, in our sole discretion, materially false, inaccurate, or misleading in a way that could deceive or confuse others about important events, topics, or circumstances.”

How is Mail Chimp singularly qualified to adjudicate matters of truth or falsity? How big their expert staff must be. Consider the wide range of cultural issues that populates daily email traffic. Most of us don’t pay much attention to any of it. But this is the genius of Progressive thinkers. If the viewpoint in question is different than ours, it must be false. Case closed.

The mark of the beast

What if you believe something to be true? Are you likely to be the only one? How do we correct misperception if we don’t allow its expression? Isn’t there a difference between control through censorship and learning from our mistakes? Which way advances civilization more quickly? Which is tolerant? Do you care about tolerance anymore?

Many are familiar with the prophecy restricting buying and selling to those with “the mark of the beast.” What we see emerging today is a secular version of the mark of the beast. The mark today is on those with disfavored viewpoints and ideals. They are anointed with a scarlet letter. This does not end well once we allow it to take over. That is what we appear to have done in the last election.

At its root, the Leftist cancel culture is less about de-platforming extreme ideas. It is more about persecuting people with whom they disagree. Their aim is not correction or learning but punishment and destruction. It is important we all understand this.

If the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) were true to their own definition of hate; and they are not, they would have to include most of the Progressive left on their infamous map. Today’s Leftists, Progressives more resemble characters of Orwell’s 1984. There Winston Smith, was outed as non-conforming, is brainwashed back to Oceanian orthodoxy and awaits his execution.

What are they so afraid you might think?

The question here is: Why are Progressives so deathly afraid of the free marketplace of ideas? Let’s suggest they are in urgent need of reading John Milton’s “Areopagitica.” In his attack on the ideas against the state-sponsored cancel culture of his day, this Puritan declared:

“Let [Truth] and Falsehood grapple; who ever knew Truth put to the worse, in a free and open encounter?”

Milton argues the best defense of freedom of speech and expression is debate and discussion of ideas. It is there where good ideas rise and bad ideas to fall. Perhaps the cancel culture is a latent acknowledgement; Progressive ideas suffer under the weight of scrutiny. If we don’t have freedom of expression we’ll never know, now will we?

Today, the truth no longer matters. Not the subjective truth; what you think is the best beer or who makes the best hamburger, but the objective truth of what is or is not a fact. It’s not that objective truth doesn’t exist; it most certainly does. Rather, it’s that so many people on the political left, no longer care what objective truth is. You shall submit and conform.

It’s obvious the point of control nearest the Leftist, Progressive heart. The have spent over a hundred years trying to make sure nobody hears your ideas. This is nothing less than Jefferson’s “tyranny over the mind of man.” For those who understand how hard won freedom actually is; we must swear eternal hostility against the efforts of those who would steal it.

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