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Freedom of Speech
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- Written by: Rod Boyle
- Category: Blog
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or maybe I should have titled this: Fact Checking Freedom of Speech.
We live in an era - relatively rare, where we take it for granted that anyone should have access to Freedom of Speech, but - when this liberty was granted it was not foreseen how abused it would become. By which I mean no-one foresaw the state of US politics. There was the not-unreasonable presumption of decency, good intention, the allowing for differing points of view.
Now this has spiraled out of control. The media gives equal weight and press to the most absurd and preposterous of lies, told solely for the increase in reputation or profit of the seller, and at great cost to society.
Think the anti-vaxxers, who are allowed to voice the most inane oppositions to current scientific methods and models. Solely for the increase in their reputation or ego; by being contrary to science they can with no small arrogance put themselves on the same pedestal as those who wasted 10 years of their life getting a medical education.
Even worse, if it can be imagined, are those that spread this disinformation with a view to profit from the "alternatives" they're marketing or have shares in. And then - irony of irony - take the conventional vaccines as a matter of course, failing to disclose this to their audience.
And - it is worth noting - all of these people survive by and large as a result of increases in medical understanding - the plague of childhood poxes and polios, rubella, whooping-cough, measles, etc - they survive because they've been vaccinated, if not them then largely because the surrounding populace has been vaccinated and thus reduced their own exposure.
It is quite possibly the biggest abuse of Free Speech in existence. If you, for example, went on to social media and claimed to be anti-gravity, offered a challenge to like-minded viewers that saw them leap from the highest buildings in their area, if you advertised yourself against "Big-Gravity" it is very possible that following a few of the inevitable mishaps you might find yourself facing criminal charges. Vaccines don't offer the same immediacy, and so lies and disinformation spread about them are not so instantly verifiable.
Vaccines are but one example - think of the countless other lies currently in existence and popular coinage - ballot fraud, QANON, Alex Jones, etc, etc.
These things cause real harm, no merely to individuals but to society at large.
While it is certainly OK to question facts, it is best done by those who have first done the requisite research, and with the required educations.
So - perhaps it is time to talk about ending Freedom of Speech. There are things that are true and are false, and a great many things in between that we're still figuring out.
If anyone should knowingly spread falsehoods - there should be grave consequences.
Stupidity is killing us all.
Gabriel García Márquez - Living to Tell the Tale
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- Written by: Rod Boyle
- Category: Books
- Hits: 1035
The autobiography of Gabriel García Márquez, which much resembles his novels. A thick read, to rebuild an attention span laid siege by cellular phones and the internet and poor viewing choices on NetFlix.
Anyways, I'm enjoying, it's nice to get out of ones head for a bit and - while I've always enjoyed his books, I'm discovering him to be very relatable in his autobiography. Which is perhaps odd, in that we're in no ways the same, but that is the point of reading, to meet different people without running the risk of having to know them...
Cloud Atlas
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- Written by: Rod Boyle
- Category: Film
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Directed by: Wachowskis
Starring: Tom Hanks, Hugh Grant, Susan Sarandon, Agent Smith
High ideas badly realized, overly-ambitious, applause for effort but none for realization.
I ended up largely wincing on behalf of everyone involved - especially Tom Hanks with his many roles under layered makeup, more ridiculous "disguises" than make-up, you are supposed to recognize them in their various incarnations, after all.
It drives home the fact that while I don't mind Tom Hanks, he does best when he's playing Tom Hanks.
And the invented future dialogue - the "True-True" - as well cringe, and the "Old Nick" or devil played by Agent Smith, is cringe, and - overall, few scenes weren't.
It's the Hero's Journey spliced over several lifetimes, to confusing and indifferent ends.
Applause for effort, none for realization, the inclusivity, clear aiming at a global audience, the cheeseball and corny philosophy saw my head imploding.
Another one I watched so you don't have to.
4'33"
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- Written by: Rod Boyle
- Category: Blog
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The poetry slam, last Thursday, attended, in a pub - and - no longer the cozy venue it once was, now perhaps 70, 100 people.
And tonight I'm committed to reading...
Only, it's not quite done and so, taking the microphone, discover I'm not as comfortable speaking in front of crowds as I'd imagined, skip the poem I'd written, too long, too many trigger warnings, and default to another:
The lyrics I'd written to accompany John Cage's "4'33"" of silence.
Unfortunately nobody knew the tune, and so nobody appreciated the lyrics...
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