Many believe that the end of free speech is done through the government implementing laws that will make it illegal to say things against the government or against what the government promotes. Sure, we do see a lot of that in places like Russia, Venezuela, Cuba and the Muslim world. But in countries that profess freedom, or just push a socialist or communist agenda, it is not so easy to curtail free speech through law without alerting the population (even those that believe in big government control). Places like France, Italy, Greece and Spain do not directly control the speech or actions of its citizens. But, believe me, their citizens are controlled. In this country, the liberal left is doing all they can to control free speech. And it is done in several ways. Read on and see if you have stopped making an opinion because of any of the following.

When it comes to promoting the liberal agenda, the mob rules. Most liberals are like a pack of dogs. They never hunt alone. Protests such as the Occupy movement is an example of what happens when liberals get together to protest. They are loud, disruptive and, a lot of the time, violent. Most of the time, these groups are not even completely aware of what they are protesting. Certain key words are used by the organizers to magnify the “injustice” they suffer and the whole group begins to yell and the violence begins. People fear going against such groups that are so volatile, emotional and lacking of reason. Even the government will be shy about breaking up these mobs for fear of escalation. The Occupy movement in Oakland, California is an example of this (http://tinyurl.com/7bre593).

If you are against abortion you “hate women”. If you are against gay marriage you are “intolerant”. If you don’t like President Obama’s healthcare plan you are “racist”. Heard these before? Debate is difficult with the liberal left. Why? Because they don’t debate. They name call. Unfortunately, most people who go against the liberal creed would rather not express their opinion for fear of being labeled a bigot, racist and/or a religious zealot. Do I like what President Obama has done in the last four years? Not at all. I believe, like many others, he is possibly the worst president in U.S. history. But according to New York Times blogger, Andrew Rosenthal, it’s that racist attitude that I have (along with most conservatives) that is trying to derail the president’s term (http://tinyurl.com/8en7ew3).

Another common tool to quell opposition to the liberal agenda is misdirection. This can be seen in the way special interests describe themselves. They will do it in a way that makes it difficult to go against the special interest because the opposite is distasteful. An example would be the Women’s Right to Choose movement. Of course, we know this means the Pro Abortion movement, but God forbid we call it what it actually is. If we called it “Pro Abortion” I would be “Anti Abortion”, which doesn’t sound so bad (though the “anti” thing bothered the right, so they changed it to “Pro Life” Conservatives sometimes play these games too). But, with the “woman’s right to choose”, being against abortion is being against women’s right to choose. Get it? This is the type of misdirection the left uses to back those who do not believe in their agenda in a corner and confuse the issues with the less informed.

Finally, probably the most common way to affect free speech is to just not let it be heard. Liberal station such as MSNBC and CBS are notorious for showing only one side of the issue. Watch MSNBC one night and you will see that the topic de jour will be debated by only left wing guests. Not much of a debate. Conservative stations such as Fox News not only bring on liberal guests for a lively debate but they hire liberal journalists to get both sides of the story. Why is that (a rhetorical question)?

But the drowning out of opposition is not done just through the airwaves. How many times have you seen a conservative speaker being interrupted by a left wing hooligan, screaming of intolerance and hate that the speaker is promoting? Now the next question: how many times have we seen the same thing at a liberal function? I know I can’t name the last time Nancy Pelosi was jeered while trying to give one of her speeches.

So, as a conservative, what do you do to stem this tide?

Don’t even deal with mobs. No logic can penetrate that insanity. Stand for what you believe in and be informed. Don’t be afraid of your position, even if it is not the popular one. If someone asks me my stand on gay marriage, I tell them and, if they will listen, I will tell them why. But, be wary. Free speech is a two way street. If you are allowed to express your opinion, be ready to listen to someone else’s, even if you don’t agree. And be open to other ideas. You may learn something. Hearing what others believe has not only modified some of my beliefs (in politics, that’s called flip-flopping and is a no-no) but has strengthened others. That is always a good thing. Only when ideas and beliefs are allowed to be openly discussed and debated without fear of reprisal and insults do we truly have free speech.