Thoughts on Media Control and Free Speech Limits

By Wesley Fryer On March 7, 2016 · · Add Comment

I can’t blog what I want to passionately articulate this evening, for reasons I am not at liberty to publicly share. I will, therefore, attempt to satiate my expressive desires by sharing two quotations I’ve made into shareable images using Canva. Canva is a powerful tool I learned about in January from my friend Cyndi.

The first thought is a favorite quotation from Allen Ginsberg, which is on a sticker prominently featured on the top cover of my current laptop.

Allen Ginsberg Quotation by Wesley Fryer, on Flickr

“Allen Ginsberg Quotation” (CC BY 2.0) by Wesley Fryer

In case you’re in a location where Flickr images are blocked, here’s the text of this quotation from Allen Ginsberg:

Whoever controls the media, the images, controls the culture.

Even when we have gained access to digital means of local as well as global publication, however, there are still real limits on our expressive event horizon, even in a relatively free and open society like we enjoy in the United States of America.

Free speech limits by Wesley Fryer, on Flickr

“Free speech limits” (CC BY 2.0) by Wesley Fryer

Here’s the text version. This is my own, original statement on free speech:

Free speech may be a U.S. Constitutional right, but it always has contextual limits. The exercise of free speech can have unintended consequences. Fear of censure at work can impose sharp limits on public expression.

The fear of censure I cryptically reference here may not be at one’s own work, but instead the workplace of a spouse or other family member.

Ask me in a few years and perhaps then I’ll be at liberty to tell you this story. For now, this is the best I can creatively and tactfully do.