A clip from 2015 from the legendary Conan O'Brian Show has resurfaced recently on the internet and it provides a startling contrast to the way our culture currently addresses issues of censorship, terrorism, and unpopular opinions in general.
This clip is from Dec. 20, 2015, just over five short years ago, and aired just after the tragic shootings at Charlie Hebdo in Paris, over a cartoon with a drawing of the Prophet Mohammed in it.
"As many of you know," Conan starts, "there was a terrible tragedy. Twelve people in France were killed because a satirical newspaper made jokes that some group found offensive."
"Now, obviously everyone here, all of us, are accustomed to bad news from around the world. But this story really hits home for anyone who, day in and day out, mocks political, social and religious figures."
"In this country we just take it for granted that it's our right to poke fun at the untouchable or the sacred. But, today's tragedy in Paris reminds us very viscerally that it's a right that some people are inexplicably forced to die for."
"All of us are terribly sad for the families of those victims, for the people of France, and for anyone in the world tonight who now has to think twice before making a joke. It's not the way it's supposed to be."
Fast-forward to Feb. 14, 2021.
The western world is currently embroiled in multiple censorship scandals including attempts to de-platform entire conservative news organizations.
Entire alternative platforms, such as Parler, are branded as "voices of hate" and shut down summarily by the establishment, to tacit approval, or worse, widespread applause.
Perhaps it was hard to see this coming, but in today's world, the very platforms on which we have felt free to express ourselves since their inception have now decided to engage in subtle or not-so-subtle social engineering, and now purport to influence what we see, hear and feel.
The above video serves as a glaring example of how much things have changed since 2015.
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