I May Not Agree With What You. . .

The hallmark of liberal Western civilization for the past several hundred years has been the right of people to say what is on their minds. Civil discourse has been, by and large, the method by which ideas have been transmitted, policies shaped, directions of governments changed, and the attitudes of the populace, in general, have been formed. No more.

Once upon a time; a time rapidly receding into the mists of memory, Westerners could say with sincerity, “I may not agree with what you are saying, but I will defend to the death your right to say it.” Freedom of expression was important. The fundamental belief in that freedom predated the First Amendment to the American Constitution, but it was surely enshrined there and emulated far and wide. Freedom of speech was not protected in large portions of the world, notably the Soviet Union [and now Russia], China, most of the Middle East, much of Africa and, as a practical matter, large segments of South America.

But there has grown up a movement in the West that has recast the promise of free expression. Today, as practiced in Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and the U.S., the mantra reads: “I may not agree with what you are saying, but I will defend to your death the right to say it.” Violence, threats of violence, intimidation in the workplace and in commerce, “canceling” and “doxing” are now common responses to speech that some people find opposed to their own speech or beliefs. The examples of this are too numerous to list, but the following will suffice to make the point.

In 2020, a county in Ohio rolled out a hotline for residents to snitch on those of their neighbors who do not wear masks, in line with an executive order by Ohio’s Governor. Turning neighbor against neighbor by means of anonymous spying was a perfect copy of the Soviet and Chinese models of destroying civility among communities, setting one citizen against another; destroying trust among friends and family members. That was truly despicable!

Last week the Department of Homeland Security issued an alert this week warning the public to be on guard for terrorist threats. The impending threat was NOT from Islamic terrorists, drug cartels, or violent gangs. The alleged “threat” was from Americans to might express online narratives or theories that the government deems false or misleading and likely to “exacerbate societal friction to sow discord and undermine public trust in government institutions." Get that? If your opinions [part of speech, by the way!!!] might undermine public trust in the government, you may be deemed a terrorist. That is a badge Ratcatcher wears with pride. Ratcatcher sincerely hopes that its readers will always question the government; always challenge its assurances and promises; never, ever take at face value what the government claims. Even our 40th president, Ronald Reagan, told us, “The nine most terrifying words in the English language are ‘I’m from the government and I’m here to help.’” Imagine that: Ronald Reagan, an American terrorist!

In Canada, the owner of a restaurant who served food to truckers who were protesting the actions of the Trudeau government has closed her restaurant in response to the threats she has received from those who oppose the truckers’ actions. Her “speech” has been silenced by threats of violence!

The fourth example is drawn from the American political world. Senator Joe Manchin opposed the President’s pet legislative project, Build Back Better, which would have terrible consequences for the nation and for the State of West Virginia, in particular, his home state. Senator Manchin was bombarded with threats of violence over his principled stance on the legislation. No more civil disagreement; no more polite negotiation in the halls of the Senate. Actual physical harm was needed to persuade him to support President Biden. To his credit, Senator Manchin stood his ground against the thugs and refused to budge. But his refusal is not the point. The point is that Western civilization, and American in particular, has degraded to the point that polite disagreement seems no longer possible.

What has brought us to this point? Why have otherwise reasonable people become thuggish in their behavior, threatening those with whom they disagree? What has happened to the social compact that meant that reasonable men and women could differ in their opinions without physically and verbally attacking each other? When did ad hominin responses become the first recourse of debate in place of facts and truth? More than a hundred years ago, William Butler Yeats, perhaps assessing his own world in the aftermath of World War I, wrote: “Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold. . . The best lack all conviction, while the worst, are full of passionate intensity.” Does that fit today? Is it true that the center cannot hold and things are falling apart? It appears that way to Ratcatcher. And is it true that the best lack all conviction which the worst are full of passionate intensity? Again, we say a resounding Yes.

Readers of this Blog may disagree as to the cause of disintegration but will surely acknowledge some of the following symptoms: Dramatically falling church attendance and with it, the abandonment of the conviction that there is such a thing as absolute truth; disintegrating families; the ascendency of radical atheistically-based teaching starting even in elementary schools; the emasculation of the military; the significant increase in demonic and horror-based entertainment; the avalanche of pornography and the correlative degradation of women all the while boasting of women’s rights and the breaking of glass ceilings. This list is incomplete but must include as a major component of the disintegration the devaluation of human life, beginning with the holocaust of abortion and concluding with euthanasia and physician assisted suicide. The consequence of these factors has been the concurrent devaluation of society and the unburdened freedom of expression. Civility is gone. Gone with the dissolving center.

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