Literary survival in an age of tyranny: The F word vs. the law, and legitimacy.

An often repeated quote, almost always mis-attributed to Voltaire, makes an interesting study of itself, in usually being presented as: "Voltaire once wrote: “To find out who rules over you, simply find out who you are not allowed to criticize.” Who in American politics are people not allowed to criticize?"

https://www.quora.com/Voltaire-once-wrote-%E2%80%9CTo-find-out-who-rules-over-you-simply-find-out-who-you-are-not-allowed-to-criticize-%E2%80%9D-Who-in-American-politics-are-people-not-allowed-to-criticize

Legitimizing the quote has required its re-attribution to avoid mentioning, much less wallowing into what it was that drove the real author to think as he did. In current context, that history only amplifies and reinforces the point... that in an age of oppression, the re-packaging of valid ideas into a more presentable form... by mis-attribution... is essential to their utility, and survival, and, perhaps, to the survival of the author.

An too obviously derivative corollary exists, today, in noting that "To find out what rules over you, simply find out what word you are not allowed to say."

In properly avoiding that subject, it becomes necessary to recognize, no word is an island unto itself. The obvious lesson of J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter series: a word's power is only enhanced by the enforcement of the prohibition in saying it ? But, tolerating the prohibition pairs the enhancement with submission.

Substituting for such a word, with "The word that shall not be named", however, in context, draws upon that social awareness already generated by popular fiction, to MOCK the attempt.

And that is my subject, today... to address the abject failure of the popular press in applying the lessons of history in the creation of great literature... which has never resulted from author's being forced to, or seeking commissions for, praising the greatness of ones rulers, or submitting to their dictat.

In medieval times, speaking truth about a ruler directly in print, and in plain language, would almost certainly and quickly lead to the removal of your head. The vastly reduced output from those authors has not helped in burnishing their literary reputations, over time. Today, we face a technological tyranny that is in no way different than the medieval variety, in its impacts, even if a bit less bloody, so far.

The goal, is to succeed in saying what you want, while avoiding the censorship entirely, or its consequences, but also to do so in a manner which is, in itself, rewarding in its entertainment value.

In old England, this was accomplished directly, by pairing mockery of the politicians and the monarch in humorous tracts, or in searingly clearly worded political pamphlets, that were printed in secret, while depending on anonymity to preserve safety.

That works on some parts of the web still, where anonymity is still enabled. Other parts of the web insist on stripping that protection from participants. But, the technology, today, makes eradicating the words themselves far too easy, so no solution is found, there.

The greatest literature of Europe, particularly that of Spain is of that exact nature. Given an overly decapitation friendly culture, equally willing to indulge priests in exacting horrific penalties for blasphemy, as it was insistent on defending the public image of monarchs, and their kin, from even the slightest hints of impropriety: innovation was required to speak truth at all. That threat required truth to be masked in some other guise... so that the key art form of our modern politicians... "strategic ambiguity"... was translated into literature.

Only, in our politics, the "strategic ambiguity" is fully intended to enable a practice of fraud... while in the medieval literature its intent was ensuring you, the reader, fully understood... while maintaining plausible deniability about the communication occurring, to benefit both the reader and the author, in avoiding a risk of death.

Each work, thus, became a double entendre in its whole, while also layering in patterns in repeated instances... in effect building a serious indictment out of silly trivialities, apparently crafted only for effect in popular entertainment. Often, authors took instances out of history, and re-told those old, already known stories with updates and embellishment, in a way which amplified their entertainment value, while enhancing their resonance in relation to current events.

The threat of losing your head, or burning at the stake... drove considerable creativity... which we are able to recognize, still, today... even far outside its original context, which no doubt strips it of much of its original potency due to our lack of awareness or understanding of the context.

But, today... Youtube creators struggle to come up with means to avoid the royal or papal censors ? Instead of the F- word, we might hear "raspberries" or other work-arounds, that have succeeded, until now, in avoiding the censors. But, that's said to be ending now, with the threatened and impending removal of all F- word focused content. But, while struggling and mostly failing to avoid the censors, without submission, our modern authors have failed almost entirely in the task of converting their submission into mockery ?

I'm not searching for a single new meme to employ in the task... as that repetitive use over time will quickly work to facilitate greater development of the oppression.

But, even that too is OK... when the impact of the choice makes them a mockery by their own choice ?

Reality is... the corrupt corporate media are our new kings... every bit as evil as those of old, and no more enlightened, with unchecked power corrupting them absolutely... they write the law that now rules our speech... and their lack of legitimacy in imposing their corruption on us, subjecting all to the WHIM of their judgment, at any moment, is a rich target that requires greater creativity, today, in result, on the part of the literary resistance.

“When government fears the people, we have freedom.”

Not necessarily. France proved you can have government fear people and STILL have tyranny. More accurately, tyranny of the mob. Same goes for the Days of Rage and how South Carolina capitulated to the mob when they rioted over a so-called “Confederate flag.”

Heck, the government even capitulated to the BLM mobsters and the Squad by throwing Trump out (and 138 House people even were very much ready to defend Trump and stop the fraud until the ANTIFA/BLM-led mob, posing as patriots, stormed the capitol building). Last I checked, that was the very definition of “government fears the people”.

Jefferson was WRONG when he mentioned that bit, then again, he loved the Jacobins so his idea of freedom was more like complete lawlessness (and he’d know, he was personally in France when they had raided the Bastille and saw them parading with severed body parts).

What can I do? In the face of the coming storm, what constructive actions can we take to conserve what works and protect ourselves? Here are a few actionable solutions anyone can adopt at a personal or local level.

Find your tribe. Network, meet in person. Social media can’t censor what you say in private. This also helps you emotionally, since you’re meeting with people who support you instead of mistaking the digital lynch mobs for what matters.

Preserve conservative institutions like churches, schools and clubs. Fight social justice infiltration or pressure to submit to liberal political demands like, “you really need a BLM lecturer in here, you’ll be good if you throw up our political symbols”.
Educate. Teach your kids your values at an early age, by reading stories that share your values. Don’t let the kids go to drag queen story time or social justice story time. Protest if the school or daycare does this, or if you’re not able to do that, take your kid out and discuss the protest with other parents. Abilene Paradox – people wrongly think that the official dictate is what everyone agrees with because no one says anything against it.

Buy books that explain the conservative worldview and defend it like those by Dennis Prager. Buy books that explain why liberals and conservatives are different without demonizing them like Jonathan Haidt’s works. And start book clubs reading these books. Hello, tribe!

Fight any attempt to add social justice to codes of conduct. For example, the National Association of Realtors just implemented a policy where you can be fined or expelled for “hate speech”, public or private. Other organizations have weaker versions of this, but expect it to ramp up.

Law, medicine and social work already have rules regarding this, equating trust and respect and empathy to liberal values - so you can’t get licensed if you don’t agree. Fight this, if you don’t want to be kicked out of professional organizations if you don’t pass the liberal political litmus test.

Hire conservatives, because businesses are firing them. Assist those who have been fired for their beliefs.

2ndvote.com allows you to find conservative and neutral businesses that share your values.
You can even sort by category (restaurants, groceries, hardware, retail) or values (pro-life, 2nd amendment).

Do you like the local or national conservative talk show hosts? Buy the stuff they’re hawking, and especially use the reference or discount codes they provide. This will tell sponsors that this sponsorship is financially important to them. And that helps keep these shows on the air.

Clean your room. Sort yourself out. You can’t fix the world, but you can improve your own life and situation. Read Dave Ramsey’s Financial Peace University books. Get out of debt. Save up an emergency fund. If Biden’s cronies crash the economy, you’re in a much better situation. And you’re in a Christian group that can be the start of your tribe, or you can arrange classes at your church or with your networking groups to bring everyone closer together.

Encourage Sanctuary Cities/Sanctuary States on any issue you support. Second Amendment sanctuaries already exist. Pro-life Sanctuaries are far fewer but could spread. Support the groups that got these policies passed, and encourage such movements in your area. You may not be able to change federal tax and immigration policy, but you can try to preserve free speech if someone can implement a First Amendment Sanctuary law at a state level.

Use the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE) college rankings on free speech to determine the least liberal schools in your area to send your kids to.

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