Cancelled
When I first started writing posts on medium, they were published in the Quick Reads section. A few months ago, publication was restricted to those who chose to follow my posts. Lately, they have not been published at all. I’ve been cancelled. This will be my last post. It will be read by almost nobody.
I am not bitching about the outcome. Medium has a right to publish what it feels like publishing. The excuses that twitter and Facebook are using for cancellations are inciting violence and COVID falsehoods. Since I have never advocated violence or commented on COVID science, medium must be using some other criterion.
I had a very specific purpose in undertaking this endeavor. I wanted to present views on current events that were not those emanating from either the Trump bunker or the Progressive agenda. I was not necessarily planning to change any minds; I was trying to provoke independent thinking. It is my premise that neither of our ideological caves or political parties have very good solutions for the problems we face. The new Democrats are pushing socialism, which has failed everywhere it’s been tried, and the new Republicans are pushing chauvinism. New Deal Democrats and Reagan Republicans have been sidelined. My fond hope is that some new political movement will emerge that looks at the world as it is and aims for change that lives up to American ideals.
I am not downhearted about being cancelled. I will find a new venue. I may never attract an audience. That is OK. The effort is its own reward.
The really sad note is the ugly change on the left side of the political spectrum. The left, in almost all its incarnations in America, has been, until recently, a strong advocate of free speech — including obnoxious speech. We have entered an era of speech codes and social media shaming. That is a shame.
