Thoughts on Free Speech

Eric Trump has accused social media of Cancel Culture in banning Donald Trump. Firstly, Cancel Culture was owned by the right for centuries and used to oppress minorities, that's merely the pot calling the kettle black. That, however, is by-the-by. What he's taking aim at is the perceived curtailment of Donald Trump's right to free speech. All  that's happened is that he's had a couple of megaphones taken from him and can still, and does, way what he wants.

Free speech is a democratic mechanism - totalitarian regimes, whether fascist or communist, do not allow free speech. Therefore, free speech that aims to undermine democracy is an abuse of a democratic mechanism.

It could be argued that there are times that a government itself borders on the totalitarian when it persistently does illegal things, or changes the law to allow it to do things in an undemocratic manner. Free speech criticising this is permissible, as its aim is the restoration of full democracy.

Using free speech to foment a coup is not a legitimate use of free speech, as it aims to destroy the very thing it claims a right to, unless that coup has the intent of restoring democracy. The Trump-inspired storming of the Capitol did not and was the action of a tyrant who lights a fuse for others to act on.

Trump likes to portray his 'Stop The Steal' meme as a democratic initiative but, when no evidence is presented, it's an initiative to undermine the very thing it purports to uphold. It's an oxymoron; it's an attempted coup against a democratic process; it's a lie.

Trump and his supporters are desperate to portray themselves as patriots, but they're nationalists. To quote David John Moore Cornwell, aka John le Carré; "Nationalism is quite different from patriotism. For nationalism you need enemies." Trump sees enemies all around him, just as fascists do.

The BLM protests have been likened by white supremacists to the storming of the Capitol, but they are entirely different. Research has shown that 93% of the BLM protests were perfectly peaceful, although you won't hear a racist admitting to that. Any damage that was caused was not aimed at government property or symbols of government but at private property. Nor was it a coup attempt; it was an outpouring of pure anger at a society that ranks black people as 2nd class. Yes, some police stations were targeted, but it has to be remembered that the protests were in response to police brutality. The manner in which some of the protests were policed was in itself highly confrontational, aggressive and antagonistic. The Capitol storming targeted the seat of democracy and was an attempt to overthrow the democratic process, although it lacked the intellectual basis and tactics required for a successful coup.

Umberto Eco wrote an essay on fascism, which he believes has the following attributes by which it can be recognised:

• The cult of tradition. 
•  The rejection of modernism. 
• The cult of action for action’s sake. 
•  Disagreement is treason. 
•  Fear of difference. 
•  Appeal to social frustration. 
• The obsession with a plot. 
• The enemy is both weak and strong as need dictates. 
• Pacifism is trafficking with the enemy. 
• Contempt for the weak. 
• Everybody is educated to become a hero. 
• Machismo and weaponry. 
• Selective populism. 
• The use of Newspeak - an impoverished vocabulary and elementary syntax.

How many do you recognise in many of today's leaders?