THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS
At first glance, it may seem an exaggeration to say that the West is today as authoritarian as it was in the Soviet Bloc. In Soviet-Occupied Europe one could lose one’s job and even one’s liberty for an unguarded comment.
Who can deny that in modern (sic) Britain professionals’ careers are ruined and their pensions jeopardised for simply being politically ‘off message?’ I have the courage to call a spade a spade, do you?
We can’t say we didn’t see it coming. Back in 2000, when you weren’t embarrassed to be seen reading a copy of the Daily Mail, Simon Heffer came straight to the point.
“This is, in theory, still a free country, but our politically correct, censorious times are such that many of us tremble to give vent to perfectly acceptable views for fear of condemnation. Freedom of speech is thereby imperilled, big questions go undebated, and great lies become accepted, unequivocally as great truths.”
Who can deny that in modern (sic) Britain professionals’ careers are ruined and their pensions jeopardised for simply being politically ‘off message?’ I have the courage to call a spade a spade, do you?
Who can deny that the columnist was wrong? In fact, things have become far worse. In Prestatyn, a hapless Jason Wakefield-Jones faced trial at Llandudno Magistrates Court. The alleged offence is that, according to a witness, he had displayed a gollywog child’s toy in the window of his home.
Sadly, and ominously, this is not an anomaly but is commonplace. Many people in Britain (Germany and France) are fined and imprisoned for posting online comments that in the 1970s would have been perfectly acceptable to a university’s rag magazine.
Much loved classics and books of yesterday including those of Roald Dahl, the Ladybird Series of Books for children, Agatha Christie novels, the works by J K Rowling and Michael Walsh’s 70 plus book titles have been blue-pencilled or removed from circulation.
London’s Metropolitan Police has 900 highly paid police officers sitting in bunkers monitoring social media. Their task is to identify for the records, caution or prosecution, online users whose comments the Westminster régime considers ‘hate speech’. Comment critical of Islamisation or the government’s immigration policy identifies as ‘hate speech’.
The same police force has fewer officers (848) attached to the Met’s Murder Unit. So far this year there have been over 50 murders in London. Victor Olisa, former Head of Policing and Diversity in Tottenham, warns that many citizens feel unsafe and adds ‘they think the police have lost control.’
I am no fan of Winston Churchill but I cannot fault his understanding of what Britain has become. “Nothing can be more abhorrent to democracy than to imprison a person or keep him in prison because he is unpopular. This is really the test of civilization.”
Yet, under the 18B Act of Parliament, this is precisely what the chameleon unelected Prime Minister did. Tens of thousands of innocent men and women were imprisoned, some in camps abroad, for protesting in favour of a peaceful end to the war.
The former premier’s views were once so commonplace few would find fault in such an overview. It is sobering to realise that Churchill and indeed Britain’s great philosophers, politicians, writers and journalists would be gaoled today for what they said yesterday if they were still alive.
About the Author
Michael Walsh
Michael Walsh is the author of over 70 published book titles. He has also ghost-written (book edited) over 40 books, novels and biographies for writer clients. He offers professional help for writers: editing of website content, books, novels and marketing content. You write it HE rights it.
