We chose to build upon our first post in week one, “Erased”, as we wanted to explore the opposite side of the spectrum – the extreme of free speech – to better understand how to build a more equitable, freeing, yet harmonious and love-driven future for society. “Erased” focused on how the direction we are heading in with censorship may present itself in the future, through stages of censorship that ranged from the minor (simply censoring swear words or potentially upsetting subject matter) to the extreme (changing the subject altogether to government propaganda). To extend those ideas in a different direction, we imagined a world where there is no censorship whatsoever. In this society, there would be no legislations in place to monitor infringements on free speech or personal liberties, meaning that hate speech is possible, media outlets can spread false information, and that there are no repercussions for any of this. We realized, through this one possible future society, that this boundless freedom actually also erases important narratives, like the narrative of sexual assault in our previous post—as, without the social or legislative need to consider how one’s words may affect another, our speech may increase at drastic levels and present itself in the form of hate speech, gossip, and any other ramblings. It would become difficult to distinguish the important narratives from the mundane or the hateful in this world, as the sheer cacophony of speech would both drown them out and perhaps even lead to citizens not attempting to listen anymore if there is so much information and no reputable sources to help filter the important parts out. 

     This society is similar to ours, except the difference is that it amplifies the issues we have with the government/institutions in power not protecting citizens’ right to free speech, personal liberties, and safety—sometimes even spreading false news and lies, and yet some believe those words. This shows that even with legal protections in place to protect free speech and to highlight important information today, if those protections are not consistently enforced, then our current society is not much better than the future extremist society we imagined. We need to continue to hold governments accountable for both the lack of legal protection for marginalized groups and for the attempts at censorship; these two posts highlight the extremes of each side in hopes of displaying the horrors of an unjust government. 

     As our parting words, we hope to briefly introduce potential solutions to the issues we brought up, as our group has now explored the implications of both sides of the spectrum. In order to create an ideal society where everyone feels that they have the freedom to explore their voice and to feel heard without fear of their safety or censorship, we cannot only rely on the institutions in power to keep each other accountable – the citizens must be the ones actively promoting a love ethic within communities first. As bell hooks describes, “those of us who have already chosen to embrace a love ethic, allowing it to govern and inform how we think and act, know that when we let our light shine, we draw to us and are drawn to other bearers of light” (hooks 101). Love is a communal effort; it is not driven by institutions, enforced by authority or dictated by law. It begins with interpersonal relationships, in the small, minute interactions we share everyday; it begins by acting with grace and sincerity towards our neighbors, by voicing our ideas for change, and by listening to those around us. Commitment to a love ethic requires a dedication to change, meaning it encourages people to continue fighting for the important narratives to shine through. Looking towards the future, our society needs to understand that, in order to instigate comprehensive change—to remedy the problems that are inherent in our communities—we need to start listening, and give a voice to those forgotten and unheard. It is a simple task, but one often incredibly overlooked. It is small and seemingly insignificant, but it paves the way for the transformation action, facilitating thoughtful, needed conversations while still continuing the fight and making strides towards a more inclusive and equal future.