the fear of words

“I’ll tell you what freedom is to me: no fear. I mean really, no fear!” — Nina Simone

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**The audio recording of this Morton Train is available to paid subscribers here.**

I recently had the honor of sitting next to an elder actress at a dinner party who had been blacklisted back in the day. This happened when she was in the prime of her career, just hitting her stride. Her entire life was abruptly sabotaged as she got shunned from Hollywood for merely being associated with certain people who had certain opinions that the McCarthy types found to be threatening.

I’ve always thought of the Blacklist and the McCarthy hearings and that sort of fear-mongering to be spurred on by right-wing authoritarian thinking. So it baffles me, during this age of cancel culture and an omnipresent social media landscape, that the language policing and silencing of voices is also coming from “free speech” liberals and promulgated within liberal circles.

Any conversation about what’s going on in the world can be intimidating these days. We are afraid of our words being misconstrued, afraid of ostracizing friends, afraid of losing our jobs, afraid of being on the receiving end of a righteous person’s tirade. Questions & concerns & even innocent comments are shut down by implicit accusation. Free speech can lead to fast condemnation.

If you admit to enjoying the work of a “canceled” artist, you are labeled an enabler of whatever that artist was accused of doing.

If you criticize Biden during this election year, you are labeled a Trump supporter.

If you claim to be a Christian, you are labeled a right-wing fundamentalist.

If you opt out of any vaccine, you are labeled an anti-science conspiracy theorist.

If you express concern about certain medical interventions for a child, you are labeled transphobic.

If you express any disdain for a female politician, you are labeled sexist.

If you express any disdain for a Black politician, you are labeled racist.

If you question the mainstream media’s narrative, you are labeled a proponent of misinformation.

If you protest against Netanyahu’s brutal military force, you are labeled antisemitic.

If you dare to speak up about anything these days, you are labeled something - and since it’s not a label you want, since it’s a label that is usually totally inaccurate, you keep your mouth shut.

My closest friends will bring up certain topics with me, in private conversation, and say things like, “I’m nervous to say this aloud” or “Please don’t tell anyone I said that” or “I’m glad this conversation isn’t being recorded.”

Actually, just sitting here and typing this post is giving me a knot in my stomach. I’m fully aware that I am treading on dangerous ground here. I’m risking being misunderstood or being called out by simply making the statements above, even though I don’t even claim them to be my own POV.

I believe that, when an amorphous difficulty is named, it can begin to shift or heal. So I’m naming it here: With our discourse today, fear is in the air. FEAR. And it’s not okay.

I heard someone say once that hate isn’t the opposite of love, that fear is the opposite of love. So in this time of constriction and restriction, of shunning and paranoia, of accusations and painful misunderstandings, of reactionary righteousness… how do we, collectively, welcome more love into our discourse?

Love, to me, looks like openness, generosity, calling in, deep listening, patience, respect, understanding, thoughtful communication, peaceful coexistence, and giving someone the benefit of the doubt.

One of the powerful Four Agreements is “don’t make assumptions.” Perhaps we can start there?

a pamphlet that an elder artist friend showed to me