When I saw the phrase “unacceptable views” in an opinion piece was the moment I knew I'd found the name for a vital concept.
Not exactly illegal. But morally questionable. Something that no Proper Person would ever want to do.
Not exactly censorship. Not incorrect. Not untruthful. Just unacceptable. As determined by a self-proclaimed Moral Authority.
The more I thought about it, the more I realized we had been falling for this for years. Free speech zones. Saying the word “nigger.” Preferred pronouns. What news articles are discussed in public. What ideas we're allowed to notice. Intersectionality. Christian dogma. Anthropogenic climate change. Triggering. Safe zones. Eradicating classical education. Tearing down public statues. Patriarchy. The rich paying their fair share.
The list goes on and on. All determined by others.
All of it controlling what others are allowed to say. Under what circumstances. When. Where. And how. No law (yet), just social pressure. To do the right thing.
Your beliefs shouldn't control my thoughts and words. And those beliefs certainly shouldn't control my actions. Because that's what we're talking about. It's a version of Higher Law, the Way of the Anointed that mere mortals can't hope to understand.
Dogma dismisses dissent.
To think and say as you are told. No exceptions if you want to belong. You want to be a True Blue American, don't you?
If you're not allowed to dissent, then are you allowed to think?
No group and no individual has all the answers. We need are ideas tested by people we trust to tell us truth. If we take away someone else's ability to think, we'll lose ours.
