The left and freedom of speech as two concepts are constantly intertwined. In the sense that the left is always screaming about freedom of speech. They constantly talk about its absence, that censorship and similar measures are characteristic only of right-wing ideologies, while they consider their ideas to be the very real freedom of speech. Normal people understand that this is not so, and all sorts of people far from politics willingly believe their words and promises, the left know how to be in the role of the devil, which whispers in the ear of a trusting people.
The article will be divided into 3 topics — “Left and freedom of speech in the past”, that is, before; “The Left and Freedom of Speech Today” and “Freedom of the Left in General”. I will try to give examples of my words as evidence, so that it does not look like empty accusations from the outside.
Leftists and freedom of speech before
Let’s start with the fact that if the concept of “freedom of speech” is written next to the USSR, it looks like some kind of joke. What can we say about freedom of speech in the press or articles, when even science was subjected to the terrible influence of the communist regime. Earlier I wrote an article «The Influence of the Left on Science», in which I wrote that even many scientists were tortured.
As early as October 27 (November 9), 1917, Lenin’s «Decree on the Press» was issued. More than 470 opposition newspapers were closed or ceased to exist due to this decree.
The left likes to mention the burning of books in the Third Reich, books are dedicated to this. It’s funny that such a thing in the Reich was carried out not by the heads of the NSDAP, but by the German Student Union and the Hitler Youth. In the USSR, the Main Directorate for Literature and Publishing was created in 1922, which united all types of censorship. There were massive seizures and destruction of «ideologically harmful» books. In 1926, special departments were created in large libraries, where books were located, access to which was obtained only with special permission.
Censorship in the USSR was total. In addition to the very bans on the literature of repressed authors, even mentioning them was forbidden. Even after Stalin’s death, censorship did not stop. Any criticism of the current regime was prohibited by the criminal code. There were such articles as Article 70 of the Criminal Code on anti-Soviet agitation and propaganda and Article 190-1, the spread of deliberately false fabrications defaming the Soviet system.
It begs the question why the Communist Party and Communism were not banned in Russia after all this?
Naturally, such books as Zamyatin’s We; «Brave New World» by Aldous Huxley and «1984» by George Orwell were not admitted to the USSR, as they would have made people think. But the most famous is Solzhenitsyn, who devoted a serious part of his life to criticizing the USSR and giving publicity to what was happening in the Gulag.
The communists also subjected their own people to repression. So, during the so-called Great Terror, secret informants of the NKVD were also arrested, who helped them in the repressions. Another example is Alexander Tarasov, born in 1958, who was leftist, but did not agree with the authorities, was arrested in the NKPSS case, but he was lucky and the case did not come to court.
After the defeat of the Third Reich, a part of Germany was able to experience all the delights of «left freedom». All publications in the media and others were controlled by the state. There were several levels of censorship. External censorship — analyzed publications for compliance with communist ideas. State censorship — controlled the degree of censorship, methods of publication and marketing. Censorship of the SED — key positions were constantly held by party members. Including in groups of authors.
There were also double standards. Party members had more freedom to publish. Famous writers who had connections also enjoyed privileges. There was also a personal relationship between the censor and the author.
Cuba. Thanks to the communists, the country is extremely poor. People there live miserably, women are often forced to “sell the body”. Tourists have more freedom. When the USSR sent them money, life there was even more or less normal, but then Cuba became what it is now. The right to freedom of expression is limited by law. Freedom of the press is limited. All media are controlled. Cubans are prohibited from watching or listening to foreign TV or radio programs. It is forbidden to read books, magazines and newspapers that have not been censored. For this you can get a real prison sentence.
Even before 2004, only doctors and officials could use the Internet, and then only with permission. But even now, not all of this can, since the prices are too high, and there is no infrastructure.
The Left and Freedom of Speech Today
It’s funny, but now we can see an example of the attitude of the left towards freedom of speech in even more countries. Left and left-liberals constantly refer to the Russian Federation as a right-wing country. They like to say that we have here, allegedly, fascism. This is nonsense for fools who do not understand political ideologies. Well, what kind of right-wing country is this if we have laws prohibiting radical right-wing symbols; everywhere the streets of Lenin and other leftists; monuments and other structures in honor of the left; laws on the «rehabilitation of Nazism», which prohibit even criticism of the USSR; former members of the CPSU are in power; the indigenous population is replaced by migrants, and so on. No, guys, these are your left-wing allies, why are you recording them as right-wing allies? It’s just that you are not at the helm with them and even against them, therefore they are against you.
Russian Federation. The semblance of choice — everything is led by the United Russia party and Putin, the rest are only to create the illusion of choice. The president was replaced only once, and then for the sake of appearance, now Putin does not hide his desires. We have here Article 282 of the Criminal Code, which can be summed up as “insulting the social group of pedophiles,” as was the case with Maxim Tesak. We have here an article “on the rehabilitation of Nazism,” which prohibits criticizing the USSR. Even the authorities cannot be insulted. And if you are an oppositionist, you will be tortured by the police. If you are a leader at all, you will be killed. Examples of this: Boris Nemtsov, General Lebed; Litvinenko and other people who caused or could cause serious harm to the current government.
Countries in western and not only Europe have Holocaust denial laws. Yes, so free countries that for some reason it is impossible to make a revision of historical moments. By the way, the same applies to the Russian Federation. Denial of the decision of the Nuremberg court is called, if I am not mistaken. For some reason, only this part of the story is prohibited. But, say, you can make a revision of some war of 1812. Even that court itself was not democratic.
Scientists, by the way, are still being repressed. There are forbidden topics that should not be touched. And there are those who, on the contrary, are better financed. Conservative scientists are repressed and persecuted. Sciences like physics and mathematics are considered racist. And pseudoscientific nonsense like gender theories is being praised. This is freedom of speech, of course. The fight against dissent, as in the days of the USSR.
USA. This is another story altogether. Not only is the country slipping into a communist trash heap, but they also love to discuss freedom of speech in other countries. They consider their country a stronghold of freedom of speech. But at the same time, in 2019, a man was imprisoned for 15 years, who simply burned the LGBT flag. And their two parties differ only in name, that those that others suck up to Jews and Israel, promote migrants and blacks and not only. Perhaps the Republicans do it more “conservatively”.
If you disagree with the LGBT or other movement that promotes the government, then be prepared to receive labels like “hater”, “neo-Nazi” and so on. You will be fired from your job, they will wish you death, and maybe even kill you. An example is the story of Allen Armentraut, who came to defend the monument to Confederate General Robert Lee. He was bullied, wanted to die, he was expelled from college. And that’s not all.
They talk about tolerance towards others, about tolerance. But if you are a believer, then you will be ridiculed, they will say that all this is just fiction. If you do not agree with their position, then expect at least persecution. If you are white, then expect insults just because of your skin color. But what can we say, if people like you are ready to hate just for what you are. But at the same time, you will still be portrayed as haters.
DPRK. Televisions and radios are preconfigured here to pick up government frequency signals and are sealed with a label to prevent tampering with these devices. Only a few have access to the Internet, and this happens through a secret connection leased from China. They have their own network with thousands of sites. Many of them are websites of educational institutions and other organizations.
It’s funny that the communist countries have democracy only in their names.
Freedom of the Left in General
Of course, the article is called «Left and Freedom of Speech», but I will also mention other aspects of «freedom» for the Left. The communists called their territories “Communist paradise”, but for some reason people fled from this “paradise”. They also fled from the GDR, but it was easier to do this than in the USSR. Therefore, they decided to build the Berlin Wall to prevent people from fleeing. One of the first to escape was Hans Konrad Schumann.
He served in the paramilitary police of the GDR. He was sent to guard the construction of the Berlin Wall. Then there was only barbed wire about 80 centimeters high. He showed by his actions to the people from the western side that he was planning to escape. This was noticed by the photographer, who was sent to the construction site of the wall. He noticed Konrad’s actions and prepared in advance to take a photo. She became very famous.
The USSR was closed from other countries, including information from them. This is commonly referred to as the «Iron Curtain». On June 9, 1935, a law appeared in the USSR that prohibited the escape from the communist hell across the border. The punishment was the death penalty. In addition to the fugitive himself, his relatives were also declared criminals.
