Every person, organization and nation is defined by where they stand in the never-ending struggle between Institutional Authority and Individual Autonomy.
When we think of censorship we often think about after-the-fact book burning or a meme being blocked by Big Tech.
But, anyone who practices the art of effective communication — especially via words spoken — knows that censorship happens before, not after, you take to the page, stage, or screen.
Censorship Regimes define what you are allowed to imagine.
Toastmasters, comedians, pastors, trial lawyers, politicians, opinion writers, influencers, professors, psychologists, sales folk, all know how difficult it is to find the right words. Finding those words almost always means churning through suboptimal words in front of Audience #1, so you have better words for Audience #2, and the best words for Audience #3.
That last thing you want is to be inside your head about the Gestapo in your dooryard with search warrants.
Generic, milquetoast speech is subject to multiple interpretations and does not require protection. Laughter, by contrast, is objective. Laughter happens when the speaker reveals a naked truth to a live audience. The more naked the truth the longer the laugh.
If you call a politician a dickhead, and the audience laughs, there is no escaping that in that moment the targeted dickhead is just that.
That’s not to say you wouldn’t do well to fly past your first insult (almost always an ad hominem) in favor of your third insult (an unprecedented revelation that triggers a ten second laugh that morphs into an applause break.)
The question therefore arises: Where do you want to practice your humorous speaking? Germany (“a militant democracy”), where insults are criminalized, or the United States where even our insult comic dogs are not only protected, sometimes they get elected President.
Triumph The Insult Comic Dog Playfully Roasts Voters Outside A Recent Political Rally At Madison Square Garden
60 MINUTES TRANSCRIPT
60 MINUTES: What's the typical reaction when the police show up at somebody's door and they say, “Hey! We believe you wrote this on the internet?”
PROSECUTOR #1: They say, in Germany we say, “So we are here with crimes of talking, posting on the internet,” and the people are surprised that this is really illegal to post these kind of words. They don't think it was illegal? No, they don't think it was illegal. And they say, no, that's my free speech. And we say, no, yeah, free speech as well, but it also has its limits.
REPORTER: Is it a crime to insult somebody in public?
ALL THREE PROSECUTORS: Yes. Yes, it is.
REPORTER: And it's a crime to insult them online as well?
PROSECUTOR #2: Yes.
PROSECUTOR #1: The fine could be even higher if you insult someone in the Internet.
REPORTER: Why?
PROSECUTOR #1: Because in Internet, it stays there.
REPORTER: If somebody posts something that's not true and then somebody else reposts it or likes it, are they committing a crime?
PROSECUTOR #2: In the case of reposting, it is a crime as well because the reader can't distinguish whether you just invented this or just reposted it. That's the same for us.
REPORTER: How do people react when you take their phones from them?
PROSECUTOR #3: They are shocked. (laughter shared by all) It's even worse than the fine you have to pay.
REPORTER: Because your whole life is typically on your phone now.
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