Offense and Controversy are Necessary in a Free Society

There is nothing I have ever said, done, or written that could be considered so subversive that it warrants a warning. Being offensive or controversial is common course for a pundit, and those who don’t arouse strong emotions aren’t doing their collective job.

But offense and controversy are necessary in a free society, and even the most despicable opinions (like, in my case apparently, that the women of the #MeToo movement have become terrorists themselves) have a place. If you do not want to read them, hear them, digest them, that is your prerogative.

But, the social media tycoons and their sycophants on the left should not have the ability to act as guardians at the gate of free expression. They should not, in their own way, exercise a 21st century version of prior restraint, dissuading people from reading things they themselves have decided are “against community standards.”

And the larger questions are: whose community are they worried about? And what exactly are the standards that govern that pristine and protected society?

It reminds me of that old movie, "Village of the Damned," where the little children with their platinum blonde page boys and their empty ice-blue eyes could destroy, with a look, those who crossed and challenged them.

I am not afraid that Facebook will stop open minded people from reading my thoughts. And if they do, there are other ways for me to communicate. I’m Italian and Irish, after all. We are born knowing how to express ourselves with absolutely no ambiguity.

But I’m worried for those who actually will take their lead from the Stalins of social media and allow themselves to be diverted from “offensive” content that will trouble the waters of their gentle community.

I have asylum clients from other, similar communities, who could attest to how easy it is to be numbed into a sense of “comfort” by those who want to hide painful truths from them.

And that’s a lot scarier than anything Christine Flowers, columnist and radio host, has to say.

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Christine Flowers is an attorney and a columnist for the Delaware County Daily Times, and can be reached at cflowers1961@gmail.com. Copyright 2021 Christine Flowers, distributed exclusively by Cagle Cartoons newspaper syndicate.