Freedom Lovers

With what happened to ABS CBN, a lot of freedom lovers have surfaced--both those for and against the network's closure. Yup, we each have our own definitions of what freedom is. One says freedom is being able to enjoy all our rights. The other says it is giving those rights only if you have proper documentation--if you're legit. [Picture above by kmicican from Pixabay].

I appreciate them both in their zeal for their rights, in their efforts to substantiate their claims, and especially to those who have no connection whatsoever with ABS CBN and yet sound like lawyers when defending or attacking it.

But there is one thing I hate about all this--their acerbic intolerance for any opposing ideas. I mean, some folks clamor for press freedom yet become toxic when seeing posts contrary to their stand. Sometimes they look like dictators. How can you invoke press freedom when you always suppress others' opinions? When you yourself stifle others' freedom of expression? A lot of people denounce dictatorship while being mad tyrants themselves. Are you one of them?

So, press freedom is important. We all hear about that these days. And it's true. I hope Duterte die-hard followers and the opposition realize this more. Instead of branding everyone who likes something the president does as "DDS" or "Dutertards," and instead of labeling everyone who sees something wrong in government or how the president does some things as "Yellowtards," they should all just allow people to express their views freely without being harassed or questioned.

De gustibus non disputandum est. That's one of the tenets of my college fraternity. Each one has a right to his or her own taste preferences. If this is what I believe about a certain issue, I must be given leeway to do so. You may think that I'm wrong, but let me be wrong. And I'll do the same to you. Unless, of course, I ask for your help or opinion. Then, freely give it to me. That's how freedom in a democracy works. That's what press freedom is all about. But if you're so intolerant of others' opinions but claim to be fighting for press freedom, you've totally lost it.

I once saw a post by a friend and decided to agree with him. So I commented, "Tama ka!" That's all I said. And then this other guy butted in directly under my comment uninvited and lectured me about what my friend's post was, sounding like he wanted to engage me in a debate. Debate is the stupidest thing ever on planet earth. It's solely for boosting the ego, nothing more, which self-centered folks enjoy doing to prove they are better. And then his post ended with something like, "(agreeing with my friend's post) is killing press freedom," or something to that effect.

Killing press freedom? And here he was profusely correcting me with my simple, innocent two-word comment to a friend without me asking for this intruder's opinion. He was violating my freedom of expression. What press freedom did he believe in?

A lot of people are like that on Facebook. For some reason they feel it their duty to watch closely what people post on FB and quickly correct or censure it if it does not agree with their ideas. They hate Duterte for being a "dictator" but are worse dictators themselves on FB. At least Duterte won't do that to me on FB. I'm no Duterte fan, I don't like a lot of what he does. And I'm no Yellowtard either. I'm just an independent-minded NON JOINER.

Freedom is important, so is press freedom. But before we fight for anything about them, we should make sure we understand what they really mean and practice it in everyday life.