"Let's not get political. Let's avoid hate speech. (That's when Jonathan Karl asks the president questions. You might almost mistake it for journalism, but, remember, he has hate in his heart.) Let's avoid antifa. (That's when the president has a bad feeling about you. Or maybe you even did an act of terror, like protesting the president while he ate dinner, hurling words at his head, harming him.)"
"Save your voice until it grows rusty from disuse. Think of all the free time you'll get back once you no longer have to spend an hour every night watching comedians criticize the regime. You will be amazed at how many other things there are to talk about. The nice smell of the leaves, pumpkin-spice season come 'round again, the smell of the top of your baby's head. Travis and Taylor are getting married-to each other, even!"
A culture of enforced silence discourages political speech through intimidation, threats, and institutional pressure. Public figures and media face consequences that make criticism feel risky, producing widespread self-censorship. People are encouraged to avoid controversial topics and focus on trivial comforts, which normalizes complacency and distracts from structural power shifts like corporate consolidation. Historical injustices are downplayed or forgotten as collective attention narrows. The denial of a chilling effect serves to justify further restrictions on speech while framing quiet compliance as gratitude, patriotism, and personal contentment.
Read at The Atlantic
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