Quote (Goomshill @ Mar 19 2024 09:19pm)
The American founding father's vision of free speech is an absolute outlier in the history of the world. Western Europe like the rest of the world has no engrained cultural tradition of free expression, it was imposed upon them in the aftermath of WW2 and never rooted, only a superficial window dressing when times make it convenient. After all, the entire concept of free speech as a protected right only exists when there are no forces bent upon restricting those rights. The idea that you can be sent to prison for 'aggravated' expression or stirring up dissent is the norm through their history, countless examples of it. How much of the protestant/catholic wars had populations learning to either keep their heads down and not make trouble or get them lopped off? Of course, sometimes they were actively hunted as exposed for their beliefs even if the avoided outward expression, and that's the next logical step, hunting down wrongthinkers.
It's not the first time when the rest of the world is more reasonable in something that the US.
The US is teaching us that all "free" things are basically misused and bad. "Free" market leads people to ruin, "free" speech is misinterpreted as a permission to attack others and encourage hatred towards others. No such thing as a "free" beer, sadly.