OBEY TELECOM

What are you doing picking up a pay phone? Don’t you have an Elon chip, or a cell phone at the very least since that’s a birthright for even the lowliest members of our status obsessed, class based society? Maybe you picked up because you have an inquisitive nature and are curious about antiquated things like this pay phone. Yes, this phone is a nostalgic sculptural novelty with little justification beyond the vagaries of postmodern theory which indulges virtually everything possibly being art, but hey, not all antiquated things are useless or obsolete.

Freedom of speech may seem antiquated, and yes, it’s an old idea, but it holds up. In fact, freedom of speech is more important than ever when bedrock democratic principles are under threat.

Amplify Your Voice

Have you considered using your voice? Have you pondered the power your voice might give you to advocate for yourself, for others, for lofty ideals? Have you considered that there are lots of options for free speech and expression other than pay phones? There are literal, and many metaphorical megaphones including your vote, to amplify your voice.

Have you thought about what it would be like to live in a society without freedom of speech? What exactly is freedom of speech? Freedom of speech is a principle that supports the rights of an individual or a community to articulate their opinions and ideas without fear of retaliation, censorship, or legal sanction. Everyone has the right to freedom of speech without interference and the right to seek, receive, and impart information and ideas.

So what about censorship?

It has been said that there is a fine line between censorship and good taste, whoever said that should know that I’m a fan of neither. I will stand up for my right to express my poor taste, or even for you to express your good taste, though I may strongly disagree with it. So what’s wrong with a little censorship in a free society? Well, the problem with censorship is the slippery slope… where does it end once it starts?

I’m sorry, I’ve just been informed by the authorities that this answer has been forbidden. I’ve also been alerted that discussing things forbidden by the authorities is forbidden. Please erase this conversation from any future casual banter and even your memory banks because the thought police don’t need warrants. Oh, and the thought police are no longer dystopian science fiction because Elon has all the thought data from your chip on file and readily available to the authorities.

Because at least temporarily I still have access to information, I recently found out that we can learn things from history going back even further than Jeopardy 90’s edition. A guy from history, Benjamin Franklin, a founding father or something, said a pretty smart thing.

“Whoever would overthrow the liberty of a nation must begin by subduing the freeness of speech”.

Franklin also said “we are all born ignorant, but must work hard to remain stupid”. Perhaps he should have added the sequel “beware of those public officials who work hard to keep you stupid because their misdeeds only go unchecked in the shadows of ignorance”. Free speech is critical to truth telling, to questioning the narratives of oppression, and to bringing light to those mired in the darkness of ignorance. When censorship reduces truth to silence, then silence becomes the lie.

Jello Biafra of the Dead Kennedys, another founding father, but of American punk music, spoke about his vision of a world under martial law without freedom of speech. He called it Shut Up, Be Happy and it goes like this: