Socialist Republic of America: 10 Essays on How the United States Lost Its Freedom (ePub)

Earlier this year, I was watching a political event on Facebook. A few times during the live event, I commented on chat by simply offering a positive affirmation or two about what the candidate was saying. Nothing really political, nothing controversial - nothing impolite or obscene.

About an hour after the event ended, I began getting some very nasty and even obscene trolling messages that took strong issue with my plain-vanilla, positive comments I had made about the candidate.

One of these strangers, who had a real profile, made fun of my last name, saying that my surname should be changed from Dembeck to Dumbeck, while the several who had no, or phony profiles, simply called me a street term for having sex with one's mother, as well as wishing rape upon me, my wife and my daughters. How did they know I had daughters? Guess it's easy to find out in a digital age.

I looked at the one who had a legitimate profile and discovered that she was a political activist, employed by the federal government with very strident opinions. But instead of her and the others simply engaging me in a real exchange of ideas, they attacked me and mine in a verbal beat down that would make Stalin and Mao proud.

This has happened to me on other major, social-media platforms, such as Quora and Medium.

This type of harassment and bulling has really started increasing in the last four years. I have read various articles about the possibility that these types of negative attacks are coming from paid trolls hired by various political entities. I tend to think this is true based on the systematic and similar personal attacks such trolls deliver. But, I also believe some of those committing these cowardly attacks, do so because they enjoy the pain and suffering they hope to inflict on those they disagree with.

But ultimately, their primary goal seems to be to discourage any and all diversity of political opinion.

When Did I Lose My Freedom of Speech?

This type of foul treatment is not just reserved for online venues and it's not something new. In the past, I have gone to public meetings where political subjects come up in a town hall setting, and those who are foolish enough to disagree with the views of the mob, soon find themselves, first verbally abused, but then often physically accosted in minor and sometimes major scrimmages.

On two occasions, I happened to be sitting near several folks who were expressing views contrary to the majority, or a small, hardcore group of provocateurs, when suddenly I was hit in the head with several pieces of hard rock candy that hurt like Hell. It also made me leave the events and head for my car before things got out of control. This happened two separate times, so the hard-candy throwing tactic must be common fare.

I am no coward, but I am no longer a young man. I was no match for those throwing strikes at my head. End result: I no longer attend such meetings.

Mission accomplished for those who insist on unity of thought and - so much for my free speech.

In these 10 essays, I will spell out how social media and those who own it have blotted out the voice of the majority and how new technology may create a time in the near future when Artificial Intelligence takes over our political system.

We will also look at a time in recent U.S. history when a President suspended Constitutional rights and how it hurt innocent citizens.

Finally, I will share some of my personal experience on what it means to be an American and offer you my grim appraisal of a future without freedom of speech.