"However, Mill believed truth can never be fully extinguished and will reappear when people regain courage and more liberal attitudes reemerge.
But why wait centuries? The acts of courage needed then will be the same as they are today. Today’s censors, with feet of clay, depend on your acquiescence to having them shape your views. You can withdraw your consent today."
I wholeheartedly agree with Peter and I too have shared the essay.
I read ‘On Liberty’ during the sheer lunacy of lockdown and found it to be an indisputable reasoning to support the principle of freedom of speech. You will not find a more erudite/powerful illustration of why censorship of every kind should be consigned to oblivion.
Stephen, You are spot on. As I reread Mill, I found myself highlighting almost every sentence. Surely, everything can't be a highlight. Well, this timeless work is.
I may misunderstand what you are saying, and while I defend passionately the right for others to have diametrically opposing views to mine and to express those views, I ask you:
Does the public sharing of bomb-making and the encouragement of using those bombs to kill and maim our fellow humans - women, children and men - fall into such a freedom?
Does the sociopath or psychopath have the right to publicly express their hatred of people of other skin colour, religion, ethnicity, economic philosophy and their plans to harm those they look down upon and hate with a passion?
Do safety concerns for others ever override the right to express hatred and the means to give harmful action to such hatred?
Barry, I don’t know the answer to these questions at an intellectual level, but do my heart-felt best to stop the expression of hatred and incitement of violence.
"Does the public sharing of bomb-making and the encouragement of using those bombs to kill and maim our fellow humans - women, children and men - fall into such a freedom?"
To answer this question, consider what the world would be like if we answer, "No!" Governments would still have that knowledge, and governments would still be populated by the worst kinds of human beings on earth (those who seek to dominate others and those who once had lofty motives but once tasting the intoxication of power are corrupted by it). Is it better that the worst among us, who also hold the reins of official power, have this knowledge exclusively, or that it be available to everyone? I'd prefer the latter.
Another perspective: is it better for people who advocate mindless violence to declare themselves openly, or for them to be driven underground in secret organizations? I'd prefer the former, where it is easier to keep eyes on their machinations.
As you rightly pointed out, censorship has a potentially devasting downside.
One that can lead to and maintain dictatorships, as we see currently in China, Iran, and Russia and has occurred throughout human history.
Are you saying that we cannot maintain the freedom to express our beliefs, opinions, judgements and knowledge while stopping the propagation of evil?
Our Western democracies, from what I wittness, are in severe decline, socially, morally, economically and politically and none more so than the USA.
I have visited your country 33 times starting in 1972.
I’ve done lots of business, been educated there, travelled widely, have created and sustained some dear friends, and the deterioration over the past 52 years I’ve witnessed in all four aspects of the social, moral, economic and political states has shocked and saddened me.
You may be right, JDL. I may be completely mistaken. I don’t know.
Kindness, understanding, wisdom and common sense are the human qualities that support a sustainable society, sustainable families, sustainable relationships and a sustainable planet.
"Are you saying that we cannot maintain the freedom to express our beliefs, opinions, judgements and knowledge while stopping the propagation of evil?"
Yes. Because the people who would "stop the propagation of evil" would be human beings, subject to the same foibles as everyone is. Also subject to the corruption which power apparently inevitably brings to nearly everyone who attains it.
I don't think social deterioration follows from greater legal freedom, but if anything the opposite: the more the government micromanages lives, the more people find inappropriate ways to release the anger this engenders.
As usual, right on target. The people who want to quash freedom of speech are frightened individuals, who (I think) have some vague sense that their dogma couldn't stand up to serious scrutiny. They have tools today which allow them to peer ever more closely into what people are communicating with each other, BUT we the people also have tools we didn't have before. I'm in the process of writing a steganography program to advance private communication; for a preview of what it can do, see http://www.adaptune.com/steg.htm .
And I'm signing off with a note written to my ten grandchildren, the oldest who is 32.
Warmly ... John
BOTH POWER AND PEACE EXIST WITHIN YOUR MIND
The Realm of Possibility is our innate, personal, professional and planetary state of well-being.
If you think you are powerless or in control, neither is true.
If you believe others are better than you or that you are better than them – those are falsehoods, too.
The same goes for thinking there is hope – or no hope – for you, humankind and the natural world.
Hope and hopelessness are both flaky states.
Within The Realm of Possibility exists the power and peace to transcend doubts, grandiosity, distortions, disappointments, hope and hopelessness and to take affirmative action.
Yes, within each of us – no matter creed, colour, education or circumstance – we have a state of mind that transforms us: you and me. And that, in turn, changes our world from experiencing hope or hopelessness to seeing Possibility.
Beyond all knowing, Possibility exists within each of us – a state of personal power and peace – a state of mind where our authentic self exists.
It is not our ‘sometimes’ psychologically unable, unstable or egocentric state.
Nor is it the state of mind where our beliefs, opinions, judgements and knowledge hold sway.
The state of mind pointed to here is our birthright – it is yours now; it exists within you.
And like many of us, eight plus billion humans, you may have lost sight of it.
That happens as we weave an illusory veil of beliefs, opinions, judgements and knowledge starting when we leave the womb – some say beforehand.
That conditioning closes our eyes to seeing and experiencing life afresh – a life of Possibility and peaceful power.
On seeing into the Realm of Possibility, we recognise those conditioned ideas for what they are: imaginary blocks to our innate power and peace.
Take a stance of not knowing, and you will see what is – not what you remember them, those, that, or it to be.
Do not look back into the past, raking over the coals. Look within with a quiet, gentle mind and softened heart. There, you will see Possibility – and your life and relationships afresh.
In doing so, you will see your personalised reality for its illusion. When this occurs, your life, relationships, and world – and in the process – THE WORLD transforms.
Like an old home, you can renovate, recondition and transform your life by exploring, discovering and rediscovering Possibility - your state of power and peace, and so much more.
Fantastic Barry. I shared it immediately.
People need to understand the power they have:
"However, Mill believed truth can never be fully extinguished and will reappear when people regain courage and more liberal attitudes reemerge.
But why wait centuries? The acts of courage needed then will be the same as they are today. Today’s censors, with feet of clay, depend on your acquiescence to having them shape your views. You can withdraw your consent today."
Thank you, Peter!
I wholeheartedly agree with Peter and I too have shared the essay.
I read ‘On Liberty’ during the sheer lunacy of lockdown and found it to be an indisputable reasoning to support the principle of freedom of speech. You will not find a more erudite/powerful illustration of why censorship of every kind should be consigned to oblivion.
Stephen, You are spot on. As I reread Mill, I found myself highlighting almost every sentence. Surely, everything can't be a highlight. Well, this timeless work is.
Thank you Barry
I may misunderstand what you are saying, and while I defend passionately the right for others to have diametrically opposing views to mine and to express those views, I ask you:
Does the public sharing of bomb-making and the encouragement of using those bombs to kill and maim our fellow humans - women, children and men - fall into such a freedom?
Does the sociopath or psychopath have the right to publicly express their hatred of people of other skin colour, religion, ethnicity, economic philosophy and their plans to harm those they look down upon and hate with a passion?
Do safety concerns for others ever override the right to express hatred and the means to give harmful action to such hatred?
Barry, I don’t know the answer to these questions at an intellectual level, but do my heart-felt best to stop the expression of hatred and incitement of violence.
Warmly … John
Thanks for the provocative questions, John.
In the USA there is an excellent organization, FIRE, (Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression) that promotes free speech on college campuses.
In this short essay, they explain the differences between degrees of incitement and hate speech and what is protected in the USA: https://www.thefire.org/research-learn/unprotected-speech-synopsis
Does this answer every possible nuance? No but in the the world of form nothing can.
In the USA this type of bill, at least for now, would be soundly rejected: https://www.spectator.com.au/2023/09/labors-misinformation-bill-an-egregious-attack-on-free-speech/
Thanks for the links! The one for thefire.org link needs one last letter: https://www.thefire.org/research-learn/unprotected-speech-synopsis
Thank you! I've corrected the link.
"Does the public sharing of bomb-making and the encouragement of using those bombs to kill and maim our fellow humans - women, children and men - fall into such a freedom?"
To answer this question, consider what the world would be like if we answer, "No!" Governments would still have that knowledge, and governments would still be populated by the worst kinds of human beings on earth (those who seek to dominate others and those who once had lofty motives but once tasting the intoxication of power are corrupted by it). Is it better that the worst among us, who also hold the reins of official power, have this knowledge exclusively, or that it be available to everyone? I'd prefer the latter.
Another perspective: is it better for people who advocate mindless violence to declare themselves openly, or for them to be driven underground in secret organizations? I'd prefer the former, where it is easier to keep eyes on their machinations.
Thank you, JdL.
As you rightly pointed out, censorship has a potentially devasting downside.
One that can lead to and maintain dictatorships, as we see currently in China, Iran, and Russia and has occurred throughout human history.
Are you saying that we cannot maintain the freedom to express our beliefs, opinions, judgements and knowledge while stopping the propagation of evil?
Our Western democracies, from what I wittness, are in severe decline, socially, morally, economically and politically and none more so than the USA.
I have visited your country 33 times starting in 1972.
I’ve done lots of business, been educated there, travelled widely, have created and sustained some dear friends, and the deterioration over the past 52 years I’ve witnessed in all four aspects of the social, moral, economic and political states has shocked and saddened me.
You may be right, JDL. I may be completely mistaken. I don’t know.
Kindness, understanding, wisdom and common sense are the human qualities that support a sustainable society, sustainable families, sustainable relationships and a sustainable planet.
They all seem in short supply at present.
Warmly … John
"Are you saying that we cannot maintain the freedom to express our beliefs, opinions, judgements and knowledge while stopping the propagation of evil?"
Yes. Because the people who would "stop the propagation of evil" would be human beings, subject to the same foibles as everyone is. Also subject to the corruption which power apparently inevitably brings to nearly everyone who attains it.
I don't think social deterioration follows from greater legal freedom, but if anything the opposite: the more the government micromanages lives, the more people find inappropriate ways to release the anger this engenders.
As usual, right on target. The people who want to quash freedom of speech are frightened individuals, who (I think) have some vague sense that their dogma couldn't stand up to serious scrutiny. They have tools today which allow them to peer ever more closely into what people are communicating with each other, BUT we the people also have tools we didn't have before. I'm in the process of writing a steganography program to advance private communication; for a preview of what it can do, see http://www.adaptune.com/steg.htm .
Thanks, JdL.
What you are working on is mind-blowing!
Thank you JdL
I respect your fight for liberty.
And I'm signing off with a note written to my ten grandchildren, the oldest who is 32.
Warmly ... John
BOTH POWER AND PEACE EXIST WITHIN YOUR MIND
The Realm of Possibility is our innate, personal, professional and planetary state of well-being.
If you think you are powerless or in control, neither is true.
If you believe others are better than you or that you are better than them – those are falsehoods, too.
The same goes for thinking there is hope – or no hope – for you, humankind and the natural world.
Hope and hopelessness are both flaky states.
Within The Realm of Possibility exists the power and peace to transcend doubts, grandiosity, distortions, disappointments, hope and hopelessness and to take affirmative action.
Yes, within each of us – no matter creed, colour, education or circumstance – we have a state of mind that transforms us: you and me. And that, in turn, changes our world from experiencing hope or hopelessness to seeing Possibility.
Beyond all knowing, Possibility exists within each of us – a state of personal power and peace – a state of mind where our authentic self exists.
It is not our ‘sometimes’ psychologically unable, unstable or egocentric state.
Nor is it the state of mind where our beliefs, opinions, judgements and knowledge hold sway.
The state of mind pointed to here is our birthright – it is yours now; it exists within you.
And like many of us, eight plus billion humans, you may have lost sight of it.
That happens as we weave an illusory veil of beliefs, opinions, judgements and knowledge starting when we leave the womb – some say beforehand.
This lifelong mental accumulation – our conditioned thinking – conceals Possibility.
That conditioning closes our eyes to seeing and experiencing life afresh – a life of Possibility and peaceful power.
On seeing into the Realm of Possibility, we recognise those conditioned ideas for what they are: imaginary blocks to our innate power and peace.
Take a stance of not knowing, and you will see what is – not what you remember them, those, that, or it to be.
Do not look back into the past, raking over the coals. Look within with a quiet, gentle mind and softened heart. There, you will see Possibility – and your life and relationships afresh.
In doing so, you will see your personalised reality for its illusion. When this occurs, your life, relationships, and world – and in the process – THE WORLD transforms.
Like an old home, you can renovate, recondition and transform your life by exploring, discovering and rediscovering Possibility - your state of power and peace, and so much more.
Love ... Granddad
Thank you, Barry.
Warmly ... John