I was just about to start a new series on steemit sharing some of the life choices that I am making and why, but now I have stopped to consider.
How wise is such a move these days?
Many nations are basically becoming over-surveillanced police states where the citizens thereof are constantly monitored from all sorts of directions. Corrupt, paranoid governments fear threats from every side, both within and without, and have almost succeeded in watching every move we make in some areas.
When we drive though intersections and parking lots, and the entire time that we are inside most stores, every move we make is being recorded and monitored.
The same thing is occurring online at an alarming rate. When search engines document every search you ever make and social media sites gather all the information about you that they can, what are the potential implications? Why are they so persistent at profiling you?
I am careful to use the term “freedom(s)” instead of “right(s)”, because when something is “your right”, it almost makes it seem wrong not to exercise it. Often, people will do something just because it is “their right.” We are certainly “free” to exercise our “rights”, or are we?
What if I exercise some of my freedoms like the freedom of speech?
If what I say offends someone, it can now be classified as “hate speech” and I can be charged with a crime. I hope that this doesn’t offend anyone, but I find that to be:
LAME
Also, what is up with “free speech zones”?
Doesn’t that stand in direct defiance of the Bill of Rights and the Constitution?
Also, when we speak of the original Constitution and Bill of Rights (not the modern, perverted interpretation of them), how in the world did we conclude that it pertained only to citizens of the United States?
There was a time when the US was more inclined to only abuse citizens of other nations, because “its citizens” were “protected” by the founding documents of this nation. Yet, those very documents speak of "all men" being “endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable Rights.” Leaving all current beliefs about a Creator or a lack thereof out of this for a moment, what was the intent here?
The “Creator” of the United States?
Or the “Creator” of the world?
Obviously, it was the “Creator” of the world, and if “all men” have these rights, then who is US to treat citizens of other nations as if they did not have these rights?
Yes, I have apparently digressed and perhaps even began to accomplish exactly what I was trying to avoid.
FREEDOM
Back to my point. If I am “free” to share about exercising my freedoms, why am I hesitant?
I once heard a story, a true story, but a story nevertheless. Actually, I read it, in the bathroom. It was a story shared in one of the "Uncle John's Bathroom Reader" books, but I am having trouble locating it at the moment. Basically, someone, I think a critic, had made a comment about burning all the theaters or opera houses in a certain country. The man was not from that country, but years later, perhaps around a decade, when he returned, he was arrested as some sort of terrorist or threat, solely because of that one statement that he had once made.
What if a similar situation happened these days? Let’s say a user makes a statement, and later, the statement is criminally used again him. In this information age with things being “forever documented” on the blockchain, how safe am I if I speak my mind here on steemit?
What if, for example, I share about why I believe that people should be able to have property rights, and later the government of the country I live in determines that people with such a belief are a threat and that expressing such a belief is now a criminal activity? A simple search over the blockchain would connect that belief to me, and I could be found guilty.
Even more, what would happen if I had since changed my beliefs?
Yeah, often things change over time and people do as well. If I am “no longer the same person” should I still be held accountable? I believe that in the case of actual criminal actions it is appropriate for the answer to be yes, but not “thought crimes.”
However, what I believe about such matters doesn’t really come into play anymore, does it?
I’m not the one with the control or the authority.
Trust me, I have no desire to hurt anyone or pose any threat to them, but I still may choose to share ideas and thoughts. Though I may be sorry if my thoughts are seen by some to be a threat just because I think something different, I still have the freedom to think, so I’ll continue to do so.
It has truly become a disturbing and dangerous time to exist in, and it appears that it is only getting worse.
These were some of my thoughts on the issue; what are yours? (if you dare to share.)
Do you think that I should begin the series that I thought about sharing, or, should I keep my thoughts to myself and just post recipes and photos?
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