Never before in our history has there been a more urgent need to refuse to be silenced. Freedom of thought is under constant attack, freedom of worship, speech, press, assembly and the right to bear arms are all fodder for tiny minds attempting to plunder them for political gain in a current narrative that has become so insidious and fluid we may miss its threat. We need not fewer voices, but more voices, since robust discourse that forces us all to think and challenge our values is the only way a free society can be maintained.
As a university instructor, my passion for decades was to inspire students (or bait them, as the case may be), into searching out a matter, understand how to parse fact from opinion, respect the vast range of perspectives, develop personal principles that can be vetted through experience in the real world, make logical analyses, and suspend judgment when more information was needed.
Sadly, though many courses are still dubbed “Critical Thinking,” I watched as texts and even a vast array of online sources became narrowed and stilted, and true journalism or objective scientific research became the ploy of political and global interests. Screaming epithets and canceling people who have different opinions, in the stilted “thought” process of spoiled pre-adolescence, increasingly passed for rhetoric, even at the national level.
Social media, images, and words without truthful context, and identity labeling of everyone and everything around us has become the private minefield of bully tech giants. Fake news is so prevalent on every side of an issue that it is challenging to trust any source. A global pandemic ginned up by fear for political and economic gain has created a false narrative for safety that has lulled us into accepting incursions on our privacy and freedoms unparalleled in American history.
Enter people who have been awakening to the false narratives around them and the lack of integrity in both government, commerce, and every aspect of society. Enter people awakening to their role in speaking out and standing up for the rights of individuals, families, and communities. We want to thrive in a free society and restrain dictatorial attacks on our freedoms and livelihoods. Enter you, and thousands of others who realize that WE are the majority, not those whose agendas foster hate, division, and fear. Do not be silenced, find your voice, and begin to see how many others might agree with you and stand together with you to refuse the tyranny of The Tiny Minds. They will not be able to survive the light of truth as we speak up and stand up.