From left, Joe Biden and Pope Francis appear together in Rome.
Column By Melissa Martin
All aboard. The censorship train is pulling out of the station. And Pope Francis is tooting the whistle.
Pope Francis recently commented that spreading fake news and disinformation on COVID-19 and vaccines, including by Catholic media, is a violation of human rights. He met with a “fact-checking” network of Catholic journalists, as reported by The Associated Press.
“The people will believe what the media tells them to believe.” – George Orwell
But what if the fact-checkers are working for the shadowy side? And their facts are fiction. Separating facts from fearmongering can be difficult when the powerful are propagating misinformation.
Oops! Anthony Fauci and his comrades may cancel my trip ticket. Substitute ‘censorship’ for ‘disinformation’ and the story changes. Why do the powerful want to discard freedom to choose? The railway engineer operating the train does not decide the destination of the passengers.
You cannot stop misinformation any more than you can stop gossip – in a democratic society. Ask citizens in China or North Korea and they’ll speak a different narrative as they tell tales of torture for speaking against dictators. Discriminating against the unvaccinated is the talk of the town in D.C.
“Because to take away a man’s freedom of choice, even his freedom to make the wrong choice is to manipulate him as though he were a puppet and not a person.” ― Madeline L’Engle
But misinformation about the coronavirus is not my point. The crux of the matter is a clampdown of freedom of speech by those with political power, religious power, media power, or any type of power. Name any calamity – it does not matter. Our freedoms are never to be taken away – ever. Freedom is our foundation. Crack the foundation and the house begins to wobble. Stability must not be sacrificed by leaders or citizens.
What happens when mainstream media is muzzled? What happens when the group/troop in power decides what citizens can and cannot read or watch? What happens when people believe that a crisis can be used to usurp freedoms?
It’s called the fear factor. Open a dictionary. Fearmongering is the action of intentionally trying to make people afraid of something when this is not necessary or reasonable. Fear is a tactic used to control the masses. Open a history book.
Presidents, politicians, preachers, or popes are granted the authority to tell free citizens what they can and cannot read or discuss during a pandemic concerning opposing viewpoints. Citizens are neither stupid nor naïve. It’s called using critical thinking skills to converse, debate, learn and decide.
“Almost any sect, cult, or religion will legislate its creed into law if it acquires the political power to do so.” ― Robert A. Heinlein
Melissa Martin, Ph.D., is a therapist, an opinion-editorial columnist, and author. She lives in Ohio.
