For some time now many of us feel the constraints of the left on our ability to speak, live and work. They have aimed to control what society thinks. How did this happen?
You may have heard the phrase, “Overton Window”. This concept came from the thinking of John Overton, an advocate for capitalism. The theory is simple, it illustrates the fact that there is a range of political/ideological concepts that it is acceptable to discuss. This restriction then runs through what is acceptable to discuss in a society.
The left have been effective in winning this battle for some time. They have restricted what you can say. If you restrict words, you begin to restrict thinking, restrict thinking and you control a society. However, this is not a static situation. We are seeing a slow, but steady shift in where the window sits.
This very concept affects so many areas of our society. Why can you say, “Black lives matter”, but if you say, “White lives matter”, you are considered a far right, Nazi, or a radical nationalist? The window of discussion on society has been pushed to the left. Why do you think comedy is now so insipid? The window on comedy had shifted to the left. Why do you think Twitter, Facebook, et al, suspend accounts for no crime, or wrongdoing whatsoever? What about the UK’s academic institutions? Why have they moved from allowing free critical debate of ideas, to the Orwellian deplatforming of conservative political thinking? Why do the police allow BLM/Antifa/XR protestors to cause damage and act violently, but will seriously constrain protestors with right of centre political thinking when they are not at that same violent point?
This is all the emperor’s new clothes as the left is attempting to control thought by limiting what you can say. “Hate speech is not free speech.” is their chant. However, no matter how distasteful a person’s speech or thinking, we do not have the right to control it. It must either stand in the crucible of debate, and be critically analysed, or fall by its own weaknesses. Yes, of course there are legal limits, but this is another discussion.
Some 5 years back, we would have considered it impossible to leave the E.U. Yet here we are, about to take back control of our destiny. Simply by allowing the very thought of leaving to exist. With Brexit we managed to shift the window back towards the centre ground. Since this, have you noticed, more free speech advocates are standing their ground and the radical left have gone full on clown world with their ever more radical protests?
We need to take back control of the national narrative, but this cannot be done without speaking out. We are and must continue to inch by inch, pull the window back to the centre by not being the silent majority. Turn their chant around, “Free speech is not hate speech”.
Spankd 