WHY YOU SHOULD BE CONCERNED ABOUT CENSORSHIP

Inkatha Freedom Fighters. David Turnley/Corbis/VCG via Getty Images

Dear Friends,
 
Many of you know I was raised in South Africa. I moved there with my parents when I was five years old. By then censorship and propaganda were well entrenched by the Whites-only Apartheid government, this representing just 4% of the total population. The problem was that those of us brought up in it did not even see what was happening, even though the rest of the world could see this was not okay. 

The official government narrative was that Apartheid was good for all South Africans, regardless of race. And us Whites of course believed them. Why wouldn’t we? After all, it served our selfish desires to turn a blind eye to the truth. Until it all ended in 1994. 

Why do I bring this up? 

Because I am seeing the same thing happening in the USA today. Sure, it is not solely race-based, although race-baiting has been on the rise of late. Instead, we are seeing a dangerous narrative being set: i.e., it is rapidly becoming dangerous to challenge the government of the day, which is funded by and thus representing only a tiny minority of the US population. (Lobbying is an elegant form of bribery.) To challenge their authority and expose their behaviors could land you in prison.  This is EXACTLY how Nelson Mandela ended up in prison, and stayed there for 27 years. 
 
Rapidly, in the USA, the judicial system is becoming politicized (by both political parties). This is incredibly dangerous, even if it suits one’s political preference or belief at the time. 
 
I chose to become a US citizen in 2016 because I believed in the US Constitution. I had to study it for my citizenship test, something most Americans would likely fail if they took it today. It filled my heart with joy and pride that the USA was a country where freedom of expression was enshrined in the Constitution, especially as I had come from a country where it could land you in prison. It meant I could express my views in public, or online, without risk of being persecuted.
 
In the past couple of years this has been rapidly evaporating, even if most people can’t see it. And this is alarming, to say the least. Why are Americans not outraged and demanding this harassment and censorship comes to an end? Perhaps it’s because whoever is orchestrating this insidious creep of government control knows exactly how to manipulate the majority of the population into believing it is a good thing to pit one side against the other. In other words, USA-style Apartheid is a good thing and should be normalized. And many march to the drumbeat of Judgment, Discrimination and Separation without even pausing to question it. Really?  
 
I have always believed that South Africa is the proverbial canary in the mine – and what happens there invariably follows in the USA. It’s like South Africa is the petri dish of ideas to be rolled out into the USA. And what is happening today is exactly one of those ideas. Except it is not called Apartheid. I am not sure what name will stick. “They” have tried woke. I am not sure this is the right word, but be assured, something will be invented, and it will stick. Propaganda, the media and censorship will make sure of that.
 
So, what can YOU do about it?
 
STOP pitting one political party or politician against another. This is EXACTLY what the playbook is about. Divide and conquer. Drag everyone down to the lowest common denominator of ignorance, fear and hate. Switch that damn TV off. It is pure poison. Every marketer knows if you repeat the same message over twenty times it becomes the new truth.

QUESTION EVERYTHING YOU SEE, HEAR AND READ.

​Look at ALL sources of information, even if they trigger all your hate-responses. Judge nothing, but discern everything. Cling to nothing (especially belief systems), so you have nothing to defend. That was our BIG mistake in South Africa – shamefully we clung to the poisoned belief Apartheid was good for all, because that is what the media told us. Don’t be the ignorant one. Learn, learn, learn. 
 
Be willing to consider that alternate views may not be incorrect, without believing you need to believe this or that. Not believing one thing does NOT automatically mean you must believe another. No. To start, stay neutral. Just listen. Just watch. Sit back. Become the observer. You may be astonished by what you learn when your mind is not being controlled by external programming. Then, and only then, act. 
 
In time, who knows, what you believe in now may be just as poisonous as Apartheid was in South Africa. Just be OPEN to that possibility. That’s all. But most importantly, live in the moment and celebrate you are alive during this amazing time of global awakening.