A Salute To Brave Bloggers

Now, this particular blog (which has an alarmingly large reading audience, from what I could gather last weekend while I was on a Caribbean cruise) normally has a bit of a biting edge. However, I would like to use today's entry to show some appreciation to bloggers for freedom in totalitarian societies. Those of us who, like myself, grew up in free societies may often take for granted that we have the right in this country to spout off about just about anything we want to without fear of official persecution. People may not like what we have to say, but beyond harassment and verbal abuse, and the occasional lawsuit (none of those yet, *crosses fingers*) there is little they can do about it thanks to the First Amendment.

Most societies around the world, including those who have the most to hide (more on that later) are not so free. While there are many people who wish to take their leaders to task and hold them accountable for their actions (a noble, God-ordained task), some people must suffer more for their bravery and pluck than others. Some people risk death, torture, exile, and imprisonment and impovershment in order to speak the truth. These brave bloggers can be found in such corrupt societies as China, Iran, and Syria, among others. These people deserve our most profound thanks, as they live up to the high standards of morality for a free people without themselves being free. They shine a candle in the darkness in defiance against tyranny, and are worthy of our support for their attempts to bring the dark deeds of their wicked rulers into the harsh light of day. We who live in much more just socities often forget that the reason we have freedoms is for moral ends--even if those who are the most stringent in defending those freedoms are often themselves highly immoral and have rather ulterior motives for thier stands.

Technology is neither good nor evil. The same advances that allow these brave activists for democracy in benighted areas of the globe to reach a world audience (this would be termed a moral use of technology) also allow for greater immorality, such as the recent actions by google in allowing the Chinese government to block sites considered unfriendly to their wicked government, and in their allowing for US federal serveilence over certain web searches, a major breach of the privacy rights of American citizens. We must be ever vigilent on guard against the siren call of paternalistic and over-intrusive government seeking to make slaves of the people. After all, the people are supposed to be the masters of their leaders, not the other way around, according to the clear Word of God (see Matthew 20:26-28, Deuteronomy 17:6-14, Ezekiel 31, among other places).

Indeed, those societies (whether they be organizational or governmental or what) which seek to most stringently restrict the freedom of speech have the most to hide themselves. Those whose works are corrupt do not wish to have their works open to the scrutiny of other people. Those who have nothing to hide have no fear of their words and actions being open to the eyes of a candid world. Therefore, even without evidence, a heavy presumption of guilt of some kind must go to those who wish to avoid accountability. After all, if people are discharging their leadership duties effectively and in accordance with the laws of God and man, then they should welcome the investigation of others, because it would vindicate their good deeds. It is only those whose actions are corrupt and evil that would wish to prevent others from making a full discovery and disclosure of those deeds. We are all sinners, to be sure, so any investigation of our deeds will uncover some matters we would rather not admit. However, those who are righteous will admit their faults candidly. Those administrations which close off records of their deeds are the worst of hypocrites, being aware of their sin but refusing to admit it or repent of it.

So, for these reasons we must salute those who expose the wicked deeds of leaders who deny the truth and live a lie. We must have no corrupt communication in our behavior, realizing that the truth sets us free from the shakles of slavery to personalities and sin. It is selom popular to speak the truth, but in some countries it is extremely dangerous. So, for those who face official persecution for their truthtelling deeds, I offer my sincere praise and any support such that my words and deeds can provide to those who struggle valiently against the darkness.