Okay, Folks.
I’m an insecure guy. A defensive guy. I can be reactive and cranky. It all comes from a painful sensitivity that is almost self erasing. That sensitivity has evolved over the years. An empathy has grown over the years as well. When I was younger, I was a selfish, toxic fuck of a person at times. I did all the dark, shocking jokes. I pushed the barriers of taste and correctness. I took chances. That's how you grow as an artist and a person. You learn from that. You should anyway. I did.
I have been humbled by age and experience, grief and disappointment, life. All that has enabled me, as an older person, to open my heart a bit and behave in a conscientious way.
For me, politics has always been cultural. I’m not a dummy. I know that the system has been sold out and is mostly just a money laundering front for corporate interests and greed. But if the middle management, the President, was at least fostering some empathy and tolerance and embracing the cultural ideas of democracy, I was okay with it.
Free speech.
I’ve never said anything other than you can say whatever you want. We’ve always been able to say whatever we want. Sometimes, there were consequences culturally that were damning. Sometimes there were consequences from business interests that aligned themselves with sensitivity and empathy toward a perceived marginalized group. Any consequences for saying anything is seen by the right as censorship and an indicator of wokeness.
Corporations aren’t generally woke. They aren’t acting out of the goodness of their corporate hearts but instead to protect their bottom lines. Which most have realized they don’t have to do anymore.
So, what are the parameters of this ‘Freedom of Speech’ platform that is so important to the new majority? To the point that they don’t care how much blood they get on their hands, how many vulnerable lives they destroy, or how much terror they put in the hearts of vulnerable Americans. Is that just a small price to pay for this idea of freedom of speech? Which, as seen in their actions, is utterly conditional.
I mean, what is woke? What is this enemy?
It seems to be if you speak from a place of:
Sensitivity
Empathy
Vulnerability (or on behalf of the vulnerable)
Fear (personal or for the world)
Anger at being targeted or suppressed
Anger in service of defending the freedom to live the way you want to live in what is supposed to be a free country
Concern for others less fortunate or unable to defend themselves
It seems that in the face of the this new majority, the response to these expressions of speech is:
‘Shut the fuck up.’
That's a directive. That can logically be followed by:
‘Or I’ll shut you up.’
A threat.
So, to be clear, the freedom of speech they are always going on about and what they are willing to fight for, despite the collapse of the system and the cruelty that will come from that, is totally conditional and in the service of complete suppression of actual free speech. They are now the censors. It’s not corporate. It’s ideological and it has nothing to do with the constitution. It is the censorship of terrorizing speech and likely with acts of terror but hopefully not. Who knows?
Today I talk to the great Jessica Lange. On Thursday Josh Brolin came back to talk again. Love that guy.
Enjoy!
Boomer, Monkey and LaFonda live.
Love,
Maron
