Sticks and Stones: 'Words Can Be Weapons'?

Authoritarians hate free speech because it exposes them to not only criticism, but also challenges or reduces their authority. Throughout the COVID pandemic, this reality of the authoritarian mindset was on full display, as those in power sought to shut down the space for the airing of contrary opinions regarding their draconian decisions, such as lockdowns and masking mandates. They defended this abuse of power as all self-labeled “do-gooders” do, arguing that all they were doing was looking out for the people’s best interests. Increasingly, as the radical Left has gained ground in governments throughout the West, the right to freedom of speech has become a problem they wish to remove. Hence the campaign not only to stop “hate speech” but also, even more dubiously, the Left’s latest aim to stop “misinformation.”