210 Freedom

I watched the movie “Darkest Hour” on Saturday.

My favorite scene was when Prime Minister Churchill rode the subway and talked with his people.

It stands to reason that if more officials would do the same, government might be more effective.

As I was looking through quotes to include in this post, a few caught my eye as being relevant in this day and age;

Everyone is in favor of free speech. Hardly a day passes without its being extolled, but some people’s idea of it is that they are free to say what they like, but if anyone else says anything back, that is an outrage.

— Winston S. Churchill

Does free speech exist anymore?

With tech giants’ censoring. media frenzy, name-calling, and, when all else fails, shouts of racism, the race to mold and indoctrinate many to the opinions of few is on.

Then there are those who take censorship to the next level and shun those with opposing opinions. Even family.

“The farther backward you can look, the farther forward you are likely to see.”

― Winston S. Churchill

But I remember a time when debate was fun and, dare I say, normal.

My father and grandfather would debate politics around the kitchen table on a regular basis. Each taking sides, then taking the opposing side for fun.

There was no name calling, anger, or shunning when opinions clashed.

Debate teams in school were also fun. Rules were followed. Name-calling did not exist. When the debate was over, all walked out of the room friends.

“A small lie needs a bodyguard of bigger lies to protect it.”

― Winston S. Churchill

In this day and age, discerning the truth is difficult.

I love to research. Peer-reviewed, expert opinions, articles, blogs. My litmus test is to find the person who they are trying to discredit and/or silence and first believe what s/he is saying. Chances are good that it’s the truth.

My second litmus test is a combination of intuition and reason. I call it the crap test, for lack of a better term.
“If it smells like crap, if my gut instinct says it is crap, and the MSM says it’s the truth, it’s probably a lie.”

The third, final, and most important test is to pray for guidance. Many times I do this first.

“Life is fraught with opportunities to keep your mouth shut.”

― Winston S. Churchill

Finally, believe it or not, many times I decide to keep scrolling. The double-edged-sword to freedom of speech is that everyone is entitled. Even people who disagree with my opinion. Sometimes it’s just not worth it to engage.

But then again, sometimes I just cannot resist…

XO Lisa ❤️