UC Berkeley, the former home of the ’60s free speech movement, now hosts fascist mobs on its campus.
The ACLU, once the go-to weapon against speech suppression, looks the other way when the Biden administration censors social media users.
And Neil Young, the rocker who headlined the Freedom of Speech Tour in 2006, no longer cherishes dissent.
Young proved it in 2022 when he declared war on comic podcaster Joe Rogan for his contrarian views on COVID-19. He tried to rally a movement to push Rogan off the streaming platform. He snagged a few compatriots, but his mission failed.
The extent of his failure came to light this week.
The 78-year-old musician announced his music is returning to Spotify two years after he yanked it off the platform to protest Rogan’s content.
Why?
Rogan recently signed a new Spotify deal that allows “The Joe Rogan Experience” to be found on YouTube, iTunes and other podcast platforms.
In short, Rogan grew too big to be silenced.
“I cannot just leave Apple and Amazon, like I did Spotify, because my music would have very little streaming outlet to music lovers at all, so I have returned to Spotify.”
And what was the “life-threatening misinformation” that Rogan spread? The “Fear Factor” alum shared why young, healthy people likely don’t need the COVID-19 vaccine. That proved more accurate than much of the information peddled by the mainstream media.
Young fell for the media narratives surrounding the pandemic. He also forget why free speech matters. The American people are entitled to hear all opinions, not just those shared by the government and the press.
Debate matters. So does the ability to question authority, share alternative points of view and press public officials for the truth.
Young ignored his inner hippie and tried to curry favor with The Man. His failure may have taken a while to come to fruition, but his return to Spotify makes it complete.