"Give me the freedom to know, to speak and to argue according to my conscience." John Milton
By: José Antonio Friedl Zapata - 26/12/2022
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The attack that we are currently witnessing against freedom of expression in countries that have been beacons of Western democracy such as the US, Europe and Latin America is incredible, Machiavellian and criminal. Upon facing this issue again, my first reaction was to remember the prophetic and wise considerations of John Milton, expressed more than four centuries ago. It is incredible to see how valid they still are today. Milton, this great English thinker and politician, long before the United States was founded, advocated freedom of speech and of the press against censorship in his England. His advocacy of freedom of conscience and tolerance later resonated powerfully with the founders of the US, as is evident in the First Amendment to the US Constitution. The famous speech that John Milton wrote under the title Areopagitica in defense of freedom of the press back in the year 1644, is considered the founding essay of the tradition of free debate and the search for truth as a vehicle for the enjoyment of freedom. . The title of the work refers to Aeropagus, an Athenian mountain that was the seat of a Council that interpreted laws and even judged citizens who had committed serious crimes. How to forget in these days of persecution of independent journalists, of underhanded censorship of free expression the teachings of John Milton, and to put it “when complaints are freely heard, deeply considered and quickly reformed, then maximum civil liberty is obtained that the wise look for.
Americans have been the main beneficiaries of John Milton"s political thoughts for freedom against tyranny that resonated with the founding fathers of the new nation. But the systematic violations of these last years, especially under the current North American Administration, have seriously endangered not only the democracy of the United States, but also those of Europe and Latin America.
We should reread some excellent novels in the dystopian genre to better recognize the risks we are facing and finally stand up to defend our endangered democracies. Among them let us mention George Orwell"s 1984, also authored by him Animal Farm, - The Animal Farm - Arthur Koestler Darkness at Noon, - Darkness at Noon - Aldous Huxley Brave new World, - Brave New World - CS Lewis Hideous Strength – That terrible fortress -.
Today we are witnessing the existential danger of the threat to press freedom from Big Tech, Big Money and Big Government, this disastrous trilogy that acts in coordination with a large part of the great written and television press, especially in the US, but also incipiently in Europe, to silence independent journalism. Independent voices in the United States have been silenced, which already two years ago denounced the existing compromises between high officials of the Federal Agencies, both the FBI and the CIA, the Department of State and Justice to ignore criminal acts, also censoring the independent media that tried to make them public. One of them has been The New York Post, which dared to publish part of the laptop of the son of the current president, Hunter Biden,
All this shameful policy of systematic and treacherous corruption was fortunately confirmed with the appearance of billionaire Elon Musk, weeks ago, who bravely decided, with all the financial and personal risks that this represents, to open Pandora"s box when he acquired the Twitter platform. , the black box that was inside this powerful platform. What we are learning about the documentation that was produced and continues to be produced, presenting sinister characters who had power within Twitter, reveals all kinds of illegal, anti-constitutional activities that have deeply damaged the credibility of the great American press and of federal institutions, plotted to silence important news to the American population. Huge damage. The fact that periodic and secret meetings were held between high officials of the FBI, the CIA and the State Department with former directors of Twitter to censor certain topics that were not convenient for them to be known, is a scandal. These are crimes that must be immediately investigated by the newly elected Parliament, which must create special commissions to clean up American democracy in time.
We are witnessing Musk firing hundreds and hundreds of corrupt employees, parading sinister key figures who decided what got published and what didn"t. Despicable characters such as Yoel Roth, an executive who was in charge of the platform"s confidential and security issues. Roth, only 35 years old, apart from being responsible for the political censorship of Twitter, also ran the application called Grindr, which was a nest at the service of international pedophilia with violent sexual videos involving the presence of children. The so-called Twitter Files, which have been appearing in recent weeks, show that he was co-responsible for censoring the New York Post publications that dared to give birth, already two years ago, to parts of the content of Hunter Biden"s personal computer. , abandoned in a repair business. The owner, already at that time, decided to hand it over to the FBI, keeping, yes, a personal copy. In it were compromising information about the great corruption of the Biden clan and its illegal negotiations with Ukraine, Russia and China. Not only did the FBI cover up this scandal, but the mainstream press did as well. Thus, everything related to the illegal personal and commercial activities of Hunter Biden was hidden, an immoral being, without any kind of scruples, always sponsored by his father, even today. It is time for everything to come to light, and for the new parliament, which has just been voted, to have the courage to fully investigate all these illegal activities that clearly put the security of the country in danger. He decided to hand it over to the FBI, keeping, yes, a personal copy. In it were compromising information about the great corruption of the Biden clan and its illegal negotiations with Ukraine, Russia and China. Not only did the FBI cover up this scandal, but the mainstream press did as well. Thus, everything related to the illegal personal and commercial activities of Hunter Biden was hidden, an immoral being, without any kind of scruples, always sponsored by his father, even today. It is time for everything to come to light, and for the new parliament, which has just been voted, to have the courage to fully investigate all these illegal activities that clearly put the security of the country in danger. He decided to hand it over to the FBI, keeping, yes, a personal copy. In it were compromising information about the great corruption of the Biden clan and its illegal negotiations with Ukraine, Russia and China. Not only did the FBI cover up this scandal, but the mainstream press did as well. Thus, everything related to the illegal personal and commercial activities of Hunter Biden was hidden, an immoral being, without any kind of scruples, always sponsored by his father, even today. It is time for everything to come to light, and for the new parliament, which has just been voted, to have the courage to fully investigate all these illegal activities that clearly put the security of the country in danger. In it were compromising information about the great corruption of the Biden clan and its illegal negotiations with Ukraine, Russia and China. Not only did the FBI cover up this scandal, but the mainstream press did as well. Thus, everything related to the illegal personal and commercial activities of Hunter Biden was hidden, an immoral being, without any kind of scruples, always sponsored by his father, even today. It is time for everything to come to light, and for the new parliament, which has just been voted, to have the courage to fully investigate all these illegal activities that clearly put the security of the country in danger. In it were compromising information about the great corruption of the Biden clan and its illegal negotiations with Ukraine, Russia and China. Not only did the FBI cover up this scandal, but the mainstream press did as well. Thus, everything related to the illegal personal and commercial activities of Hunter Biden was hidden, an immoral being, without any kind of scruples, always sponsored by his father, even today. It is time for everything to come to light, and for the new parliament, which has just been voted, to have the courage to fully investigate all these illegal activities that clearly put the security of the country in danger. an immoral being, without scruples of any kind, always sponsored by his father, even today. It is time for everything to come to light, and for the new parliament, which has just been voted, to have the courage to fully investigate all these illegal activities that clearly put the security of the country in danger. an immoral being, without scruples of any kind, always sponsored by his father, even today. It is time for everything to come to light, and for the new parliament, which has just been voted, to have the courage to fully investigate all these illegal activities that clearly put the security of the country in danger.
Also in Europe we are witnessing an incipient harassment of freedom of expression. The fact that the European Union is considering banning Musk"s new Twitter if it does not comply with the rules for moderating its content clearly indicates its concern that more details of the enormous bureaucratic corruption that afflicts it may be revealed. A few days ago, the Brussels magistracy decided to put the socialist Eva Kaili, the Vice-President of the Union, in pretrial detention, accused of being a member of a criminal organization, money laundering and corruption. Four other high-ranking EU suspects, including socialist Francesco Giorgi, await similar trials. A true international scandal. In addition, the European Union fears that Elon Musk could present documents that would prove that almost a third of the Euro-deputies, that is, some 226 of the 751 have been chosen thanks to the intervention of the corrupt tycoon George Soros to support his anti-democratic globalist policies. Musk is willing, at least so far, to put up a fight for free expression in Europe as well, and he responded by slapping the Union across the face, momentarily retiring from his small office in Brussels.
All our respect and admiration for the brave independent journalists who have received and receive harassment, censorship, and insults for many years for trying to honestly perform their job, that of being independent journalists and not puppets, well-paid spokespersons for a political party or a certain ideology. The great John Milton saw it well when he affirmed: "Give me the freedom to know, to speak and to argue according to conscience".
Jose Antonio Friedl Zapata
Political Scientist - Latin Americanist - Independent Journalist
Author of several books with Latin American themes
«The opinions published herein are the sole responsibility of its author».