“Freedom of thought doesn’t always lead to wisdom as Ben Franklin surely knew. But lockstep rejection of different beliefs bolstered by loathsome propaganda does always lead to brutal tribalism.”
(Bill O’Reilly) Americans are in danger and it’s kind of complicated so please stay with me here. Way back in 1722, an anonymous source who called himself “Silence Dogood” sent a newspaper editor a few opinions. One of them simply said: “Without freedom of thought, there can be no such thing as wisdom.”
Mr. Silence Dogood was really Benjamin Franklin. And he was just 16 years old when he wrote that. Incredible.
Today, there are groups that are paid big money by private individuals and political action committees to attack freedom of thought by designing propaganda campaigns that aim to silence opposition. Through his “Open Society Foundation”, far left billionaire George Soros funds some of this but he is not alone. Millions of dollars from both left and right wing zealots flow to the assassins of wisdom, something that would have appalled young Benjamin Franklin.