Killing Free Speech and Creativity

Shoprat has a great post entitled A Few Things in which he points out, about the Private Beauchamp story in The New Republic:

This seems to be a shining example of my previous post. 35 years ago this guys story would have been on all the networks and would have been published as the absolute truth and very few would have known otherwise. Instead the "alternative media" is tearing him a new one.

At the Say Anything blog, it is noted by Bryan Preston:

Somewhere in all those descriptions, you’ll find the motivations that led TNR to publish the writings of Scott Thomas Beauchamp but not J. D. Johannes, Pat Dollard, Michael Yon, Michael Totten or any of the writings published by those of us who have been to Iraq for whatever length of time and have things to say about the troops and the war. TNR sought out a war critic, but not any war critic: TNR sought out a war critic whose writings either smeared the troops or exposed serious discipline problems among the troops.

Shoprat's entirely correct -- and so is Mr. Preston and Say Anything. And folks, that's just one minor example.

Which is why the Demorats certainly cannot much compete with the Conservative Base and, by logical extension, why it must regain control of the media, regain control of the newspapers (which are bleeding readers), obtain control of the internet and regain control of radio by way of the so-called "Fairness Doctrine."

A truly FREE society EMBRACES free speech in its most true of forms: spoken and written. The internet enables this. Certainly, the internet can be a bit of the Wild West; it can also be a marvelous, wondrous communications tool.

But now, of course, Elton John has stepped out -- UK's favourite Gay Elderly Musical Leftist -- and said that the internet needs to be completely ABOLISHED.

Why is that, you might query?

Because it seems to be sapping his profits, that's why!

He claims it is destroying good music, saying: “The internet has stopped people from going out and being with each other, creating stuff.

“Instead they sit at home and make their own records, which is sometimes OK but it doesn’t bode well for long-term artistic vision.

Omigawrsh! People seem to be finding an outlet for their musical creativity on the internet? Huh; imagine that! Might, then, this newfound outlet for said musical creativity possibly be funneling new hairpiece money away from Mr. John? The nerve of these creative people! How dare they think their paltry little unwashed notes could come remotely close to Elton's creative potential?

That evil, evil internet!

Providing people with an outlet for their creativity, competing against "certain individuals"!

That evil, evil internet!

Providing people with another outlet for their thoughts, opinions, and allowing people THEMSELVES to vette what they read and make decisions for themselves!

HERESY! BLASPHEMERS!

(And I haven't even begun to write about free speech and Islam.)

BZ