[December 4, 2022] You should be a free speech advocate, and I’ll tell you why in this article. Encourage people to say what they believe to be true, as opposed to saying just anything. And that is your moral obligation to do so.
True speech is impossible without free speech because we are not that good at thinking. So, that means we have to stumble around while formulating ideas and wandering into areas that are not productive, manifests our biases, and shows us to be a fool. Notably, the only way to improve that performance is first by stumbling through it, to begin with, and then second by carefully observing what sort of reactions you’re getting while having a dialogue. Doing so will sharpen your ideas, improve your focus, and discover where you’ve made mistakes.
Concerning freedom, you can find out where you’ve made mistakes. Thinking means making mistakes. Are we ever going to get things right the first time we try to take it on? No, of course not. Put another way, you must be the fool and stumble while making little progress. It is crucial at this stage that we are free to be wrong, be biased, and still express our opinions (including our darker ones). This is how you expose yourself to the world, which will improve you, often harshly.
We are always broadcasting information to one another to constantly shape each other’s behavior. We’re trying to bring forth from other people what we want to see manifest. There’s an implicit ideal that we are broadcasting all the time, and tremendous social pressure exists to manifest that ideal as closely as possible.
You have to be allowed to be exposed to that sort of feedback because otherwise, you would drift and become subject to your eccentric stupidity and ignorance. We do this, also, by listening to ourselves talk. That is how we organize our thoughts, and that is thinking. Talking is thinking.
“The purpose of thinking is to let the ideas die instead of us dying.” – Alfred North Whitehead
Thus, without free speech, there is no true thought. And we think to keep the world from smacking us around. Alfred North Whitehead’s quote is a brilliant phrase and correct. If you think properly, you kill of the ideas that if you acted them out would kill you, or at least cause undue suffering or suffering for those around you. This is how you enable yourself to have clarity of thought, only through those social interactions we encounter daily.
Those who sharpen their ideas this way and can articulate their position and defend it are always the most successful people. There is nothing more potent than that.
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Please read my books:
If you are not for free speech, then what are you for?
I agree with Gen. Satterfield that we must all be free speech advocates. That is the only way we can make things better for ourselves, our family, and community. It is also important to learn how to be wrong and adjust our thinking when better arguments are made. That is known as socialization and it works.
I will add that speech is not violence like the so-called snowflakes believe but actually is a substitute to violence. That is why free speech is so important to us all.
I agree but unfortunate that is not what is being taught in college these days. Those ‘snowflakes’ are being taught that anything whatsoever that they hear that they disagree with is violence and must be stopped. That is why snowflake is the right descriptive term for them.
….. they just need a swift kick in the bu##. How’s that?
Always making me laugh, old warrior …… thank you!
Do not expect the closest nuts in college to think anything that requires effort or adopting responsibility or telling the truth, because ‘their truth’ is what they think at the moment without any reflection on reality.
“Thus, without free speech, there is no true thought. And we think to keep the world from smacking us around. Alfred North Whitehead’s quote is a brilliant phrase and correct. If you think properly, you kill of the ideas that if you acted them out would kill you, or at least cause undue suffering or suffering for those around you. This is how you enable yourself to have clarity of thought, only through those social interactions we encounter daily.” – Gen. Douglas Satterfield …. da man!
Right, don’t you just love this man?
Exactly, so read this leadership blog regularly and you will be better for it. In addition, reading the blog helps you compare yourself today to who you were yesterday, make corrections, and be better tha you ever thought you could be.
Gen. Satterfield, just a quick note to say that I got your new book in the mail yesterday and couldn’t put it down last night reading it. Fascinating. I finished reading it about 3 this morning. Yes, I do plan to re-read it to make sure I didn’t miss anything important. Thank you so much for the book. I only wish I had a personally autographed version.
https://www.amazon.com/55-Rules-Good-Life-Responsibility/dp/1737915529/
“The purpose of thinking is to let the ideas die instead of us dying.” – Alfred North Whitehead, best quote in a long time.
Gen. Satterfield, well done today. I hope young people read this article and pay attention to your main points. But, alas, they will not because they are too busy with their coloring books because the words “free speech” triggers them into a psychological meltdown. Maybe the do deserve the term “snowflake” because they surely earned it.
Yes!!!!!!
It is often forgotten in the current debate, but free speech has historically been the essential precondition for establishing minority rights–for example the U.S. Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s.
How easily we forget.
The argument is often made by people on the left that free speech is supported by conservatives only when it favors the dominant elements of society. This is not an argument against free speech but just a reminder that support for free speech needs to be separate from the content of the speech. When speech is regulated or censored by the state, it most often impacts marginalized groups, dissidents, and whistleblowers, and limits their abilities to communicate and share their own beliefs and information.
That’s spot on as a great comment, Max. Once again, you’re on it. Gen. Satterfield makes the case here and also in his recent book, “55 Rules for a Good Life” so get a copy, read it twice, and leave a comment review on Amazon. Do it now.
Exactly the reason i read the comments here in the general’s leadership forum. You can surely gain a lot of improvement on your understanding and a better depth of knowledge too.
Decent article that makes similar points, “ARGUMENTS FOR AND AGAINST FREE SPEECH”
https://www.plebity.org/arguments-for-and-against-free-speech/
If you are not a free speech advocate, then you are a tyrant waiting to get out to run amuck as an evil entity. Just think about that. If you believe free speech can be violent and must be shut down, then you are evil at the core. Redeemable? Maybe. Think about that, but of course you cannot, because you are not FREE yourself.
Right KenF. Those whacko college students are themselves part of the neo-Marxist ideological religion and cannot imagine anything different than their narrow, echo chamber view of the world.
They cannot “see” the world, and probably never will and they will also never be happy.
Wow, nicely put, Gen. Satterfield. ❤