Ep. 1 Free Speech: Prologue
Taye begins the series by pulling the thread on fires burning around Propaganda, Big Media, Big Tech and Big Personas and the collateral consequences of our social echo chambers grown over time that has fed more polarization and attack on truth.
We begin with a story of Romeo’s father who was imprisoned in 60’s communist Romania for protesting as a University student during the Hungarian revolution. How did this shape his beliefs and what is his perspective and study of the events today in our American society.
In this 3 part conversation (before and after the events of January 6), he breaks down his views of propaganda, trust in media and government, social platforms as the new public square and the sticky expectations of social platforms to provide free services and ensure freedom of expression while protecting us from our versions of terror propaganda and abuse. It may be the feedback you didn’t want to hear. Have we passed the precipice and where is this On-Ramp to the Unknown taking us.
Full Transcript:
Taye Mohler 0:11
I'm Taye Mohler and this is Anatomy of Change a podcast series about the struggle and connection in making courageous change, in the systems and structures that thread our lives.
I believe we can agree that our country is struggling to find connection and understanding. Maybe we were hoping that the divide in our democracy would not be as deep as the contested election results and insurrection at the Capitol confirmed.
As I'm taping this, it is the day before the inauguration of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, our first woman, African American, and South Asian Vice President in history. Don't you wonder what they're thinking about right now?
I found myself thinking about what ifs, and praying the world grabs the light, to a safe transition over darkness. This chapter on Free Speech pulls the thread on the fires burning around propaganda, big media, big tech and big personas, and the collateral consequences of our social echo chambers grown over time, that has fed more polarization and attack on truth. We began working on Free Speech well before the election, and I knew just who I wanted to have a conversation with first, in my career, I've met some extraordinary people, and what I value most about my connection to this person who you're about to meet, he's one of the people in my life, that when you are looking for someone to disagree with you, he's that for me.
We begin with a story of Romeo's father who was imprisoned in 60', communist Romania for protesting as a university student during the Hungarian Revolution. How did this shape his beliefs? And what is his perspectives and study of the events today, in our American society? Have we passed the precipice? And where is this on-ramp to the unknown, taking us?
Preview 2:24
Free Speech is a societal construct. So we can only have free speech, when that free speech is protected at multiple levels. It's not just something that the government needs to protect or not infringe upon the society at large also has to respect that right. If the society doesn't, and if it becomes acceptable to prevent someone in exercising, you know, the right of free thought and free speech, if it becomes the norm in society that people self censor themselves because of the fear of consequences then I would argue we already lost that free speech.
