Many of us have warned of the rise of despotism in America. Something that seemed incomprehensible or unfathomable a few years ago, is making its big push here in the good old US of A. The plan to usurp America’s free society was hatched many years ago; and was simply waiting in the weeds for an opportune moment. With the collaboration of corporate America, big tech, and academia, the plan has come full circle. Simply add corrupt elected leaders to the mix and the cake is essentially baked.
In the 1930s Adolf Hitler seized power in Germany as the leader of the National Socialist Workers Party. Some may scoff at using Hitler as an example, but the mechanisms are strikingly similar. Hitler initially didn’t control the spread of information via government censorship, but rather through his brigades of street thugs known as “the brown shirts,” who would intimidate and physically abuse opponents to keep them from speaking publicly. This tactic parallels the efforts of groups like ANTIFA and BLM with help from the media and social media platforms.
The use of corporate America to facilitate their message by means of identity politics or cancel culture has allowed them to become massive financial stakeholders. Corporate America now relies heavily on its executives to implement its agenda voluntarily, but also through intimidation by online brigades of activists and journalists who take the initiative to launch negative PR campaigns and boycotts to advance their societal structure.
For example, just look at My Pillow CEO Mike Lindell. Lindell was an avid Trump supporter and outspoken conservative business owner. Despite having a great product and being incredibly successful, Bed Bath and Beyond and Kohl's department stores decided to discontinue carrying his products, even though it was financially beneficial to both parties, because his political view doesn’t fit the mold. He was subsequently banned from selling and advertising his products on social media platforms as well.
Since early 2021, Twitter has permanently suspended his personal and business accounts. In layman’s terms, he’s been cancelled; and if that doesn’t work, rioters and looters will come and pick through his bones. Lindell is not the first and won’t be the last. In the world of the oppressive regime, independent or dissenting opinion cannot exist. My guess is Elon Musk will have something to say about this.
It seems apparent that selective political voices are being targeted for obliteration in America, through the utilization of corporate and social warfare. The suppression of speech through de-platforming or embedding searches into oblivion has become a common practice. Companies like Facebook and Twitter have virtual immunity to suppress speech with little or no repercussions. They deploy thousands of censorship bullies and use terms like, fact checkers, false or partial information to discredit or dispute anything that doesn’t align with their ideology. COVID is the perfect example. Once again, Musk will have plenty to say about that.
We are witnessing unprecedented constitutional abuses on a national scale. Recently the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and the Electronic Freedom Foundation (EFF) have condemned the conduct of these tech giants and stated, “They won’t stop there.”
American society has always been deeply ambivalent about free speech. On one hand, our history is filled with examples of blatant government censorship, from the 1873 Comstock Law to the 1996 Communications Decency act; and present-day’s assembly of Joe Biden's Disinformation Board. On the other hand, the commitment to freedom of imagination and expression is deeply embedded in American culture, buttressed by the First Amendment, and supported by a long line of Supreme Court decisions. The ACLU is correct in its assertion that they won’t stop there. Protecting the Constitution is everyone’s duty. ◆
Thank you and God bless you.
- Vincent Cavaleri
