One thing that has emerged in the last few years is the concept of dangerous thought — that some thinking, on its own, is a threat or presents a risk to others.  With the release of the #Twittergate files by Elon Musk, there has been an outcry from the left — namely, that Twitter has become a torrent of hate messages.  They claim that Musk has made their beloved propaganda platform a dangerous place.

The release of the #Twittergate files shows that a head of state, Donald Trump, one of the most powerful men in the world, was exiled from social media because he had dangerous thoughts.  It wasn't anything he tweeted or posted; it was out of an irrational fear of what he might do.  Trump's words were not censored; he was blocked out of fear of dangerous thoughts.  Twitter's complicity in this blocking is fully validated in the information released.

There should have been cheer that Twitter was going to finally allow a fair and balanced dialogue online.  Instead, progressive members of Congress are screaming for hearings into the matter.  They don't want to look at Twitter's censorship of half the nation for years.  If anything, they want that restored ASAP.  Their focus is to return Twitter to what it was: a leftist platform that supports only their pet causes and ideals.  Whereas a year ago the same members of Congress claimed that social media companies shouldn't be controlled or monitored, now they demand exactly the opposite.  None of them sees the irony in the 180-degree swing on their positions.  All they are worried about is that their personal propaganda forum may yet reveal their own involvement in the censorship that was inflicted on the American people.

The progressive radicals of Congress know few boundaries they are unwilling to goosestep across.  They shifted to a punitive mode.  Many of them want Elon Musk arrested, stripped of his companies, and his followers imprisoned.  A few have stated that he has too much money — apparently, they desire to redistribute his wealth.  It doesn't matter that Musk hasn't committed any actual crimes, nor have his followers.  The vocal extremists want blood and a feeling of retribution.  They have been told to share the toy named Twitter with the other kids in the class, and they are now throwing a tantrum to get it back. 

What constitutes "dangerous"?  People who don't adhere to personal pronouns.  Individuals who state that they believe that the woke/cancel culture crowd are a problem in society.  People who refuse to support the woke mob's fluid ideals.  Anyone who dares to question the narratives pushed by the progressives is deemed a threat to democracy.  The president of the United States has declared that anyone who supports MAGA ideals and values is exactly that.  It is less important what defines dangerous thought than who gets to make that definition. 

This belief, that mere thinking can be wrong and worthy of censorship, is an escalation on the part of the cancel culture mob.  Banning people for their words is anti-American as can be, but presuming to know what someone is thinking and censoring him for what is believed to be in his heads is Orwellian at its worst.

The intent of attempts to smother what the left considers dangerous thought is simple: to force individuals to surrender their rights and only think the way they do.  It is draconian in its deviousness and is a violation of American's rights to pursue life, liberty, and happiness.  The left wants, as long as it defines what you can pursue and consider happy, to limit what you consider liberties. 

Elon Musk has said he didn't just purchase a social media company; he purchased a crime scene.  While that is true, he also has purchased a battlefield in the cultural war that the radical left has ignited.  Opening up Twitter to be a level playing field is not something that the progressives are willing to allow.  It isn't enough to block the voices of the American people; they want to do it based on what they fear you are thinking. 

Blaine Pardoe is a New York Times bestselling and award-winning author.  He is a regular contributor to American Thinker and other conservative sites.  His most recent works include the conservative political thriller Blue Dawn, A Most Uncivil War, and his upcoming release of Confederacy of Fear.  This series tells the story of the violent overthrow of the government by radical progressives.

Image: Twitter.