The Word That Stops All Conversation

"I'm all for free speech, but not hate speech." Have you heard this sentence uttered before? Ah, the dreaded 'H' word that is often under the guise of racism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia, and other phobias and ism's that are often hurled at those offering differing viewpoints from the elitist know-it-alls in the political, media, and corporate worlds.

What is it about this quick rush to judgment, attack, or threat when someone has the audacity to disagree with an opinion? Is it an attack on free speech? Or is it something more insidious? Has anyone ever thought that it might be an attack on authenticity? Have we gotten intellectually lazy enough that we have had enough of debate, conversation or argumentation, and just want everyone to fall in line even if it means we create a bunch of phonies?

Where does this all start? Within the education system? Although I would like to relegate it to the Universities, we have seen during Covid-19, when our lives were pushed online and parents got a glimpse of what was being spoon-fed to their kids in K-12, we began to see that some teachers were indoctrinating our kids into this mentality. Donald Trump brought out the worst of the "I'm offended" crowd because instead of parsing his words the way seasoned politicians do, he spoke his mind publicly like your drunk uncle used to do at Christmas parties.

To date, it would seem that feelings are paramount and truth goes to the wayside. We now hear things like "My truth" or "their truth" as if the truth is no longer objective but subjected to the whims of this or that group of people. The culmination of it all has descended into the subjugation of science for the sake of feelings. What more can be said of so-called transgenderism? We have biological sex, but gender is relegated to what the person feels about themselves? While there are 2 biological sexes, the genders are whatever the individual decides. And don't you ever even question the orthodoxy of those who support this movement. Trans women are REAL women, they say! Well, why not just call them women then? This insidious form of cultural rot has seeped into even the supreme court when the newest appointee to the court couldn't define the term woman because, as she stated, "I am not a biologist".

It may seem as though I am rambling a bit but when logic, science, and critical thinking are turned on their head and made subservient to people's feelings, society becomes what it has become today; a culture of fear where the rational are supposed to lie about reality in order to make a small segment of society feel good about themselves and their irrational decisions. Fear of being called hateful or racist led the governing authorities and police to allow a gang of Pakistani Muslims to rape multiple English girls over the course of many years in Rotherham, England. Gangs of mostly white hoodlums called Antifa, run roughshod over cities and towns across the USA attacking anyone who disagrees with their Marxist beliefs as fascists, and our government not only looks the other way but celebrities and corporations pay their bail.

Now that the lines have been drawn between the haters and the self-proclaimed compassionate, we employ the use of words like racist, sexist, and all the new phobias against anyone who dares to question the narrative. We end up with a society of dishonest, lying, virtue-signaling cowards that mirror the powers that be in government, media, and the corporate world. And do the problems go away? No, they get worse and worse to the point that anyone can spew any illogical nonsense and the sheep will not dare to even argue against it for fear of losing their livelihood. Instead, we might even begin to praise the person for their bravery and virtue.

Well, I'm not built like that. It's time to get back to critical thinking and logic. I heard it said once that an honest person is willing to follow truth wherever it leads. We need to get back to that and it starts with people willing to take on the name-calling and standing up for objective truth and authenticity. It's time to reject the mob in favor of honest debate and scrutiny of bad ideas.