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Free Speech

26/1/2021

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Excerpted & edited from an essay recently published in The Atlantic magazine, author Michael Leviton. This excerpt provides foundation & context for this Q&A.
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When I was a child, my father played a game I enjoyed. Wherever we went, he'd predict what strangers were about to say or do. In a store he'd point out the salesman and explain, "When I say how much I will spend, they'll immediately show me something more expensive" which happened exactly as Dad predicted. At my first concert, Dad told me the musician would ask the audience how they were feeling, everyone would cheer wildly, the performer would then say, "I can't hear you!" and sure enough, it happened.

It felt like magic, as if telling the future or reading minds, so I asked how he did it. Most people follow a script, he explained. I asked him why and I remember him answering, "We're afraid to say what we really think, because we think people won't like us. Better to be liked than honest but avoided." I knew then that I wanted to be honest. I stuck to that for the next 25 years; there were consequences.

In my family, honesty was the only policy; It was never stated openly, no family rule or manifesto. My parents never said, "We don't lie under any circumstances." I nevertheless learned how to strictly define a lie. My parents' approach included much of what's considered polite or normal; they led by example, being themselves. I developed little sense of inappropriate questions or why anybody would not answer. Even at age 4 or 5, my father would respond to my curiosity with long-winded history and philosophy, explaining things such as the scientific method or the subconscious mind, or sharing details from his life, including emotions many people would cover up.

I learned the word hypocrite early, during a conversation about self-honesty. I told my mother I'd noticed my grandmother complaining about people doing what she did also, and asked Mom if her mother was a hypocrite. "Well," I remember my mother saying, "your grandmother certainly does a lot of hypocritical things." When my paternal grandmother told Mom not to speak ill of her own mother, my mother replied that lying to me would mean I'd either stop trusting my own observations or stop trusting her, both bad.

My parents' unwillingness to hide their feelings was a rejection of their experiences. Throughout my childhood, I heard stories of their own parents, bosses, teachers and friends pressuring them to conform. I was glad to have my parents instead of "most people."

One time I felt most grateful was at a measles vaccination. I remember other waiting kids asking their parents, "Will it hurt?" most of whom answered their children. no.  Some parents said nothing, ignoring the question. I couldn't believe what I saw: parents lying to their children right in front of me! Dad explained, "Most parents consider lying good parenting." I asked Mom how it would feel; she said it would hurt a little, but the pain wouldn't last long. After the shot, I smiled when discovering she told me the truth. It horrified me to imagine kids who couldn't trust their parents.

My folks were so pleased with my moments of honesty and proud of their truthful parenting, they'd tell stories like this to anyone who'd listen and even re-tell them to me as family folklore. These became exciting bedtime stories in which my parents and I were heroes. My early childhood memories of exactly how these things happened are surely influenced by the re-tellings.

By the time I went to school, I'd heard a lot about how the outside world wasn't like my family, and I was content to be different. At age 4, I tried to show that a shopping mall Santa was fake. At 5, I was crying in class daily, insisting that openly crying felt great, everyone should do it. At 9, I asked clergy what scripture said about my fetishistic sexual fantasies. At 13, I called out the bragging boys at camp for lying about sexual experience. I'd laugh at bizarre and absurd lies I witnessed, mentally organizing lists of common manipulations and evasions. Eventually, most things I heard people say stood out in red.

Everyone else knew many good reasons to hold their tongues, but my parents and I couldn't agree. Why wouldn't anyone want to hear what other people thought? Why not say what you think? For us, it seemed as if other people didn't really want to know one another. Many years later, a co-worker would tell me she wished for just one day nobody would remember, a day to tell everyone what she really thought. In my family, that was every day. Telling the truth felt like singing, but when I started dealing with society, it made people want to strangle me.

I spent decades being off-puttingly truthful, many folks assuming I used honesty to justify insults. I'm aware many such people exist, insisting they're "just being honest" when being cruel. My honesty did occasionally offend, when I admitted that I'd forgotten someone's name or if I didn't fake interest when bored. Insulting people wasn't nearly as much of a problem as making them uncomfortable. Even close friends would squirm when I'd gush about how much I liked them or at a personal story which moved me to tears. I got the impression that, after hearing me, most would have prefer being insulted.

My insistence on honesty escalated at age 17 when I first attended "therapy camp" with my family, along with a few hundred participants who slept in tents in the woods and participated in extreme, public therapy sessions. I spent one week each summer watching hundreds of adults tell their most vulnerable stories, sobbing in front of the audience. With my newfound sense of the feelings boiling unexpressed beneath all the façades, I'd rant to anyone who'd listen about how ridiculous it was how everyone hid so much. I insisted that if we could all read each other's minds and see the truth of others' pain, we'd relate and all love one another. I couldn't understand why most people valued "privacy."

When I moved to New York at age 22, it became clear how an honest person would have a hard time getting a job. The nicer interviewers would be concerned and offer sincere advice, telling me that when asked about my biggest flaw, I wasn't supposed to actually list them. When I told them I hoped employers would appreciate honesty, most laughed. In some cases, I ended interviews early because the interviewer and I clearly weren't compatible, but I got lucky and was hired by an eccentric man charmed by my earnestness. After two months as his assistant, he pointed out where I needed to improve. I candidly told him that I didn't think I could do better, that I wasn't the best person he could get. I pretty much persuaded him to fire me.

Up to this point, my truthfulness prevented romance; it seemed unlikely any girl wanted a truly honest boyfriend. Then I fell in love with someone who appreciated openness and joined me in it. We talked constantly, sharing our most bizarre feelings, observations and opinions. We told each other stories from our pasts, feeling understood, but talking through everything also created an obsession over what otherwise would have been fleeting emotions. Expressing feelings regardless of how they might affect the other person, often felt self-centered and uncaring. I'd gotten what I'd always wanted and found I couldn't take it, after six years we broke up. In my heart-wrecked state, I decided my truth-telling had caused enough harm, it was no longer worth it. There must be things other people understood which I didn't, so I thought, reasons why dishonesty made other folks genuinely happy. At the next New Year's Day, age 29, I resolved to be "less honest."

There were no support groups for this. Therapists advised clients to speak the truth, for once not to keep quiet. I needed the opposite, so I created a system of making lists of topics I would not discuss again, including rules for myself, such as:
  • Hide my feelings and observations.
  • Instead of searching for people who will appreciate me for who I really am, I will be who the person in front of me prefers.
  • I will learn to make small talk.
  • I will NOT be myself.
This felt both stupid and impossible. My brain had been built for honesty. I couldn't even answer "How are you?" with just "Fine" without feeling off.

I started with small talk, asking the safe questions people around me did. I pretended to be satisfied with vague or avoidant answers. I'd stuff my hands in my pockets to hide the involuntary clenching and shaking when I held back the truth. I couldn't however ignore how much smoother every interaction went, how much happier everyone else seemed. I got an apartment after I falsely claimed that I had a high-paying job. I got piano-playing gigs by refraining from mentioning that I wasn't a very good piano player. I found I could have romances if I didn't mention qualities other people might not like.

I had the feeling, for the first time, that people who liked me didn't really know me, that I was the only person who felt anything wrong. I reminded myself how such people-pleasing was normal, it was what everyone wanted. I tried to find pleasure in being liked, having jobs, friendships and romances but all along, my honest mind told me I was a con artist. Whoever liked me really only liked the fake person I'd tricked them into thinking I was.

After years of feeling torn between my old and new ways, I overcame my discomfort from participating in the dishonest world. I started to see why people spared one another the truth. As I experimented with small talk, I noticed how others used honesty to establish intimacy. I'd always seen "hiding feelings" as cowardly but for other people, selective honesty gave it meaning. They'd choose who was special enough to hear secrets. My indiscriminate, automatic honesty used to mean I'd tell a personal story the same way to a stranger as to my closest friend. This cheapened what I shared; people who love me wanted to know what I didn't usually reveal. I hadn't ever saved that for them. Immediate honesty was impatient; if I wanted honesty in return, I had to earn it.

For 11 years now I've let myself lie. I'm still probably more open than most people and no doubt a few folks still believe too honest. Shutting up for a while has certainly softened me. These days, I save my candor for people who want it. When someone won't be honest with me, I understand. I still hope for unvarnished truth, but sometimes we have to follow the script in order to build sufficient trust, to then throw that script away.
========================= 

I empathize with this author somewhat, because The Committee —their nickname still decades away— did much the same to me as a youngster and young adult, as anyone who read the introduction to The Alien Handbook might recall. I did and have sometimes revealed what I get, without citing the source, and it has most often been entertaining, sometimes even negative. The big egos in business and commerce I ran across were quite soft & squishy, outer appearance notwithstanding. (A life contract lesson for them and for me. I digress....)  Unlike parental training, I simply assumed for a long time that everyone's mind works in a similar way and proceeded with that approach. 

The USA has a version of what many nations uphold, the practice of free speech. The American interpretation evolved from Dutch practice & policy going back to the early 17th century, examples across Earth have interesting histories also. In the USA, thought freedom is broken down into a list of several areas:
  • publishing & the press
  • religion & worship
  • peaceful public assembly
  • complaints to & about government
  • speech
Thought freedom? Yes, these 5 areas of expression all arise from our minds. They might seem different in practice, but stand together upon the same foundation. The human mind, because it is the human soul, is beyond control. Expressions of thought are our right as humans, because it is our natural condition in our home of Heaven. 

We come to Earth to experience restrictions, which are becoming interesting at the moment. USA President Roosevelt (in office 1933-45) predicted the future more than 75 years ago, now currently unfolding:

"The first truth is that the liberty of a democracy is not safe if the people tolerate the growth of private power to a point where it becomes stronger than their democratic state itself. That, in its essence, is fascism; ownership of government by an individual, by a group or by any other controlling private power.... Among us today a concentration of private power without equal in history is growing."
​

The HCPs, in other words. 
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24 Comments
alex campbell
26/1/2021 13:37:56

Leviton sounds like he has Aspergers. I see something of myself reflected in his words

Reply
Jennifer
26/1/2021 14:34:56

“The political forces who now believe they hold power, hold not nearly the authority the image they offer suggests.“ Can TC elaborate more on this? How do they not hold the authority?

Will the truth about the election fraud finally be shown the all of America and the world?

Why have I been so blind, until recently, about how much we are controlled and treated like puppets? I never ever used to care about politics or vote because I did not trust any politician. When Trump was first elected I thought he was a joke. Recently now every day I think about politics, think about how Trump was really the only politician who seemed to care about us, etc. I see so many wrongs happening around us and to us it makes me sick. These things though have always been happening. Why do I care so much now and I did
t before?

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otherscott
26/1/2021 15:11:10

Jennifer, I can't think of Trump as a politician, and I agree that he was the only one in that office in recent memory who supported The People. Your disgust is shared by many, and it seems to me you care so much now because the left has reared their ugly head and made apparent how little they care about the idea and reality that was our country.

Reply
Patrick
26/1/2021 15:39:39

"They" don't need to care, they carefully planned and manipulated the election to remove Trump. The evidence is believed well hidden.

• The epidemic has put how many millions of Americans out of work? The answer: more immigration!

• True energy independence and low fuel prices are met with cancellation of a huge pipeline project, putting thousands of union members out of work and pissing off our closest friend and ally, Canada. But we're going to repair relations with our allies. 🙄

Every time I read a headline, more evidence appears why I cannot tolerate politicians.

Make no mistake, Biden is a fading figurehead.

Patrick
26/1/2021 15:29:48

Q: How do they not hold the authority?
• The Democrats are in a somewhat shaky position, the reason they're focusing on Trump removal after his departure, and pushing through many executive orders to immediately reverse course.

Q: Will the truth about the election....
• The evidence will be offered, but who believes it as true, will be one of many reactions across the spectrum. Vigorous attempts will be made to denounce it.

Q: Why do I care so much now and I didn't before?
• You heard the stories, have seen the results and understood how they haven't matched up, in fact often missed each other completely. Example, the accusation Trump is a Russian agent. >2 years of continuous allegations from both elected officials and the press, with assurances from members of Congress there was solid evidence. None surfaced.

You now see how not voting played right into political hands, how President Trump became a champion of the people, to the detriment of many a politician's preference. Trump's style & manner turned off many voters, accustomed to smooth, sweet talking politicians and overdoses of social niceness in general. Unemployment falling rapidly after 8 solid years of doldrums, true energy independence and scaled down war involvement mean a lot more than a pleasant but empty speech about unity.

Reply
Jennifer
26/1/2021 15:37:42

How can we ever beat them if every time we offer proof they just lie and deflect? Some people will always believe the bad guys. So how can we possibly get past this?

Patrick
26/1/2021 16:00:38

We can't beat them, it's too late. A huge proportion of the US population has been taught how the USA is inherently defective, unfair, skewed against the success of everybody except white heterosexual males (the patrimony) and is racist, xenophobic, intolerant and given to misogyny.

Too many people insist on the smooth corporate exec personality of cool & calm, such as Reagan 40, Bush 41 & 43 and Obama 44, or to be buttered up by the ever smiling salesman such as Clinton 42.

Along came somebody with a mindset of success and achievement for the USA. This large proportion of the population took to Trump like licking an ashtray, because of his style. These folks have seen little else but Smooth and Steady.

Many Americans, including younger ones, are spoiled, entitled & indoctrinated. These ding-a-lings think socialist policies bordering on communist tyranny are good for the country, but if any one of them were asked WHY they like it and what is wrong with the current system, they can't find their way out of a paper bag. "Feel The Bern".

The ridiculous notion of "free education" is now almost gospel, even though it doesn't exist ANYWHERE on Earth. Somebody has to pay for it, if a student does not.

Education and social media material have taken the USA far from what it once was. As the California model expands across the USA, this will become obvious to the majority only after it's too late.

Worry not, as events of The Shift kick into high gear, a lot of this will be forgotten.

Anne
26/1/2021 17:05:22

I love this topic. I see the degredation of free speech happening, and I've been wondering what will break the trend.

Q: What's the solution?
C: The Shift now coming to a region near you.

For this alone, I welcome the shift.

Reply
Jennifer
26/1/2021 17:15:55

Does Trump know about the upcoming geophysical upheavals that are soon to come to earth?

Does anyone else in government know?

How soon is soon? Like weeks, months, etc?

Reply
Patrick
27/1/2021 08:51:27

Q: Does Trump know about....
C: No

Q: Does anyone else in government know?
C: Mostly no but the yes reply applies to people who might or might not fit your definition and understand of "federal government"

Q: How soon is...
C: This depends on which event and the following effects. The events are already occurring now.

Reply
Phil MeKrackin
26/1/2021 17:57:21

Ah yes, how soon, the trillion dollar question, if only we could know the answer to !!! 😏😏

Reply
Patrick
27/1/2021 08:51:48

Why? It wouldn't change a damned thing.

Reply
Santanu Acharya
26/1/2021 20:43:49

"Q: What's the solution?
C: The Shift now coming to a region near you."

To conclude, Humans will not change by themselves unless they are forced to change by external factors. It will apparently get from bad to worse before everything is swept off by the Shift.

@Patrick: So when will be the major geophysical upheavals coming to a region near us? I know that timing of events can't be predicted accurately.

But is there a rough estimate of the time / years of the of the following events when they will have maximum effect on governments / humans?

- The Dim period
- Sea Level Rise
- Earth's Magnetic field fluctuation
- First, Second and Third Oil Shocks
- Federal Governments having little control over regions

Reply
Patrick
27/1/2021 08:57:29

".....Humans will not change by themselves..." History says otherwise. Humans do not need much change, but the powers who seek and do control us, say otherwise and point out imperfections in every little corner, at every opportunity, to convince us.

The "major geophysical upheavals" are happening now. Remember the earthquake the last full moon? How about the full moon tomorrow the 28th?

"No rough estimate," says The Committee, "the more you desire a schedule, the less providing one will have value and meaning for you."

Reply
Scott R
27/1/2021 15:50:07

I've heard the San Andreas might do its dance in Sept of this year...

Reply
Steve
26/1/2021 22:18:50

I think my belief about the shift coming at all is beginning to diminish.

Reply
Patrick
27/1/2021 08:57:56

C: "Then it will increase when you least expect."

Reply
Scott R
27/1/2021 15:51:11

At least your consistent, Steve...

Reply
Magic Mike
27/1/2021 00:28:31

Am I the only geek around these parts who is more interested in the cover headline of Another Alien ET base found on Earth. Who, what, where, how, why? 😁

Reply
Patrick
27/1/2021 09:00:14

It's a rock formation in western New Mexico, but The Committee says it has been used as a surface way station, marker and indicator by our visitors.

The bullshit about tachyon particles, is. I borrowed that from Star Trek Voyager, it was encountered often inside the Delta Quadrant.

Reply
Magic Mike
27/1/2021 00:32:16

Oh and if y’all are interested in free speech, you should head on over to Gab social network https://gab.com

Reply
Patrick
27/1/2021 09:00:37

I'm sure it will get infected also.

Reply
pierluigi
27/1/2021 08:32:38

"The Shift now coming to a region near you."

Near? This term is so uncomfortably vague... It seems related to space, but it could easily be intended as time....

Have a nice day
Pierluigi

Reply
Patrick
27/1/2021 09:01:13

Time = location. Uncomfortable? That's the objective, you are doing well.

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