Perhaps you are aware of the brouhaha over several popular commentators having their Internet publishing outlets shut down. Facebook had been interfering with free access and free speech for several years, along with YouTube and Twitter. Even WordPress has joined in this ugliness by kicking some bloggers off the platform. You can read articles about “deplatforming” as the newest threat to free and open communications.
Is this merely the case of companies exercising their property rights? There is a lively debate over whether these services can in some way be treated like common carriers, or perhaps in terms of “public accommodations” with all the regulations and restrictions that implies. Of course, all that does is throw the question of whom to silence into the hands of government agencies. Do we trust government or would we prefer some private corporation with enough power to rival the government?
Anyone with more power than you is a threat. There is no practical difference when it comes to the individual experience. Under Radix Fidem, we don’t at all use the language of “human rights.” That’s just idolatrous mythology. Our attitude is that God is in control of such things and we reject any pretense of pressuring godless agencies to do what’s right. We have no illusion that these people give a damn.
Instead, we make it a tactical issue. Our mission is the message. How we get that message out depends entirely on the provisions of our Father. Right now, I think my blog is safe where it is, but I am certainly keeping an eye on this controversy. Not so I can fight attempts to silence me, but so I can evade artificial restrictions. God always makes a way to obey His will, and sometimes it takes a bit of effort to secure that path.
A concern is being falsely lumped in with groups the powers that be (TPTB) find offensive. I make it a point to distinguish my message from the whipping boy of the day. But if TPTB find us offensive in our own right, there’s not much we can do about that. The saints of God will tribulate. Jesus warned that, if the world was so eager to nail Him to the Cross, we should hardly be surprised when they turn against us, as well. But this is legitimate suffering; we should be careful to avoid putting ourselves under anyone else’s flag.
Lest you miss the point here: We don’t believe in “free speech” either. Within our covenant community of faith, you can bet we would try to silence someone stirring up strife and threatening our shalom. Indeed, I’ve spilled plenty of electrons warning readers that the whole of Western Civilization is a lie that deserves to be censored. But it’s a lie of the Devil, and the only way to deal with him is walking in the truth. You can’t shut him up except in the most restricted contexts. One of those contexts is within our own enclave. I’ve got a prominent notice on this blog that I moderate comments and won’t let just anything through. You should see the spam I delete every day.
Let’s not pretend to any noble suffering here, as if censorship and deplatforming is somehow inherently evil. It’s just unfortunate and inconvenient. We trust in God to provide the means and opportunity.
It’s weird, really, to call the normal state of affairs of a human a “right,” as though and individual has permission to use it to do the most heinous things and enjoy some measure of protection. If it’s a “right,” then no one should be able to curtail it…though it happens anyway, again as part of normal human behavior. So why all the fancy talk about it? Everything works as it always has.