Deer In Headlines II

By Gery Deer

(Listen to the accompanying Deer In Headlines Podcast episode.)

I have been a freelance journalist since 1988, and the level at which we are losing our right to speak fact to power is deeply concerning. I don’t care what side of politics you happen to be on, but if you can’t see that free speech is under attack in our country right now, you must be living under a rock or so brainwashed by the status quo that you don’t care. Well, you should care. Our founding fathers put our guarantee, free speech, a free press, and freedom of, and from, religion – all right there in the First Amendment of our Constitution.

The current political machine grinds out endless column inches, social media posts, and lawless proclamations to spew freedom at every possible moment. And yet, the first things they did when they took over was restrict the freedoms of anyone “he” didn’t like – and now it’s extending to those who speak out against their “cause.” Supposedly, that cause was freedom at all costs, with the caveat that you must go along with everything they say or do.

We’ve heard all of this before, in other countries, from communists, fascists, dictatorships, you name it. So here we are, in arguably the most powerful country on the planet, now controlled by people who have simply decided that free speech is fine, so long as it’s state-approved. Don’t get me wrong, our country is not perfect; we’ve got blemishes on our history all the way back to day one. However, I’d like to think we’ve improved some things since then.

Now I’m not so sure. The people in power want to eliminate any shred of evidence that the United States of America is not as star-spangled awesome as they’d like you to believe. They are all hard at work scrubbing books, museum exhibitions, and historical data of any references to the horrors of slavery, government corruption, and anything else that doesn’t serve their crazy idea of democracy. Let’s be clear, it’s not democracy they want, but totalitarianism.

Every move they make implies a state-sanctioned religion, a theocracy, and brainwashed ideology that is not only bigoted and corrupt, but downright criminal. This administration has violated the Constitution so many times that even the press has begun to normalize its behavior. Are you kidding me? That’s what we’re supposed to do now?

Why else would massive corporations like CBS Paramount, or ABC, which Disney owns, suddenly drop some of the most influential and award-winning television hosts? Sure, companies have regulations within their business, and they’re allowed to set the tone by which employees are expected to behave. However, when the government threatens a broadcaster with revocation of their broadcast license over a freedom of speech issue, rather than a regulation or violation of the airways, we’ve reached a point of ridiculousness and danger.

Can you imagine if the other side of the aisle had done any of this? The same people who are doing it now would have literally lost their minds. They would have been breaking their arms to wave flags and scream about trampling on the Constitution. But now, so long as you say what they like, you’re good to go.

Book bans, an attempt to force the “free press” to report only what the administration approves, and a laundry list of other incomprehensible and subjugating tactics are all part of their method of operation. The country’s second in command recently issued warnings to the public not to say anything against the recently assassinated vocalist of this right-wing banana factory – or else.

No government official in the United States of America has the right to restrict the free speech or opinions of any citizen – or any non-citizen, for that matter. If our laws don’t apply to everyone, if our freedoms and civil liberties don’t extend to all, then they’re complete nonsense. Americans on both sides of the aisle are feeling the strangle hold on their rights, but virtually no one on the right will speak out for fear of “his” wrath.

I say this again – free speech is under attack. But the more we all speak up, the less they will be able to suppress our voices.