Editorial: Where does freedom end?
When "The View" doesn't have one
I dip my toe into editorials now and again … As a staunch believer in freedom, I am compelled to do so for this week’s edition of your weekend reading.
God gave you free will … you have a right to choose what you watch, read, listen to, write, or say.
By the way, that same God also gave your neighbor those same rights.
Where does that freedom end? Whose freedom should be protected?
It seems today that we value feelings in the same way we value property. If someone chooses to steal, there is a potential punishment. The penalties for theft can be harsh. The thief can lose their livelihood if the crime is large enough. Legislatures have created different penalties for petty theft and grand larceny so that we can deter those crimes.
We are also creating more and more unwritten rules to live by. Every week we hear of someone being threatened because of something they said, or a 240 character tweet they posted. Regardless the cause or content, be it ignorance or opinion, it seems people completely unrelated to the situation can stir up enough power to stifle & punish them. And why? because someone’s feelings are hurt, or feel offended, they demand a safe space, or simply because they may have an opposing opinion.
“I disagree with what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it” is said to have come from Voltaire. It is not from Voltaire, the 18th-century philosopher, but it was a paraphrase from a biographer named Evelyn Beatrice Hall of what she thought Voltaire was thinking.
From the host of The Bachelor to Dr. Seuss, it seems that many Americans no longer agree with Voltaire’s way of thinking.
Yes, there are a few people fighting back. But more importantly, the vast majority are not choosing to exercise their free will and speak against these new rules that change daily. They fall in line, and stand silent. They are being deterred to act, because they are scared of the consequences of free speech. The can not afford being punished for these unwritten rules.
We said never again - but did we mean it?
The exact number has been disputed, but it was said that only 7% of Germans were Nazi’s in 1940 - and look what happened. While it may have been 10 or 15%, it was nowhere near a majority. Yet, this minority still caused a World War. Millions of people were killed, and worse - exterminated - while 80% or more of Germans were silent and fell in line.
Cancel culture is taking away freedom little by little, each and every day. We are valuing someone’s feelings over a word, phrase, thought, or opinion, more than we value livelihoods and freedom of speech. I saw this post on social media. We are creating safe spaces for those who can’t cope with opinions, instead of protecting and respecting our Constitutional Rights.
Last year Major League Baseball joined in and moved the All Star game because of a potential law in Georgia. With the move went hundreds of millions in economic stimulus from Downtown Atlanta - the same demographic that the MLB claimed they supported. The irony is that they moved the game to a city that had more restrictive voter laws, and a significantly smaller minority population.
Is it hypocrisy or simply bad judgement?
Whoopi was one of those that fell in line over the years. She piled on instead of choosing not to defend others when she had the chance. And now - there is nobody to defend her.
“The View” didn’t have one. They chose to remain silent, and move on.
I will defend Whoopi, and all the others like JK Rowling, Mel Gibson, and Dave Chapelle. They have a right to be ignorant, misinformed, or have a different opinion. "Congress shall make no law prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech …”. If Congress can’t make these laws, neither can these blackballers. It needs to stop.
Why am I writing about this in a blog about leadership?
This may be a macro view of our current culture, but this may also be happening in your company.
Are your people being silenced by unwritten laws? Do you have a positive and encouraging company culture? Who cares what is happening on Main Street or Pennsylvania Avenue - what happens within the walls of the business is up to you!
Do you think that all this stifling of opinions could be hurting your team? Can they have open and honest discussions? Do you encourage debate so you can hear other sides? Are you equipping them to manage these debates with proper discourse and professionalism?
And you know this will happen, but when a team member has a bad day, or lapse in judgement - Be Voltaire! Defend them, and do it publicly.
Doing something without malice in mind, doesn’t mean that no harm can be done. If this happens, have grace, show grace, because we all are looking for it once in a while. We may not be able to change the world, but we have a choice; simply fall in line or do what is right. And “it’s never the wrong to do what’s right” - Mark Twain.
As for Whoopi, there is little if anything that she has ever said that I agree with. She is obnoxious, arrogant, overrated, and pampered - but suspension or the inevitable firing is wrong.
When given the option, always choose to be Voltaire!
Comments?
Good read. What I’m struggling with is that when I look around at the people I know, meet or see, most of them seem to be just regular, hard working people who want the best for themselves and their family and community. I would say that they/we are the majority. However as there are nowadays that many minorities, it seems that the majority is the minority and should indeed keep silient because views and feelings of the minorities are the right ones and can not be debated. Does anyone recognizes this?