KeanoMay 12
#DEI must change. As guardians of free speech, we must remain vigilant in protecting this fundamental right for ourselves and future generations, ensuring a free and vibrant society. #Vigilance #FreeSociety
WIST QuotationsMay 8

A quotation from Adlai Stevenson

My definition of a free society is a society where it is safe to be unpopular.

Adlai Stevenson (1900–1965) American diplomat, statesman
Speech (1952-10-07), “Safeguards Against Communism,” Masonic Temple, Detroit, Michigan

More about this quote: wist.info/stevenson-adlai-ewin…

#quote #quotes #quotation #qotd #adlaistevenson #freecountry #freesociety #freedom #freedomofexpression #freedomofthought #heterodoxy #minority #unpopularity #liberty

Stevenson, Adlai - Speech (1952-10-07), "Safeguards Against Communism," Masonic Temple, Detroit, Michigan | WIST Quotations

My definition of a free society is a society where it is safe to be unpopular.

WIST Quotations
WIST QuotationsMay 7

A quotation from Eric Hoffer

They who clamor loudest for freedom are often the ones least likely to be happy in a free society. The frustrated, oppressed by their shortcomings, blame their failure on existing restraints. Actually, their innermost desire is for an end to the “free for all.” They want to eliminate free competition and the ruthless testing to which the individual is continually subjected in a free society.

Eric Hoffer (1902-1983) American writer, philosopher, longshoreman
True Believer: Thoughts on the Nature of Mass Movements, Part 2, ch. 5, § 28 (1951)

More about this quote: wist.info/hoffer-eric/10928/

#quote #quotes #quotation #qotd #erichoffer #competition #failure #freesociety #freedom #frustrated #happiness #inferiority #liberty #selfhatred #selfloathing #truebeliever #unsuccessful

Hoffer, Eric - True Believer: Thoughts on the Nature of Mass Movements, Part 2, ch. 5, § 28 (2.5.28) (1951) | WIST Quotations

They who clamor loudest for freedom are often the ones least likely to be happy in a free society. The frustrated, oppressed by their shortcomings, blame their failure on existing restraints. Actually, their innermost desire is for an end to the "free for all." They want to eliminate free competition…

WIST Quotations
Don Curren 🇨🇦🇺🇦Mar 19
“I cannot think of many things more anathema to #civic #virtue and a #freesociety than to try and do away with #introspection. And, in a way, that’s what #slopulism offers: external enemies, shadowy machinations, and very little interiority.”

RE: https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:5zca2ola2zxpkw37w4f3wxtu/post/3mhgoaegdns2g
BGDon 🇨🇦 🇺🇸 👨‍💻Mar 2

Good points in here.

Yes, hypocrisy and arbitrariness are running amuck at the moment but the real danger is allowing mistrust in free enterprise (with appropriate regulations) to support a situation where there it becomes ok for using heavy-handed state power for arbitrary coercion. That is far more dangerous than any individual company's situation. https://www.theargumentmag.com/p/anthropic-and-the-right-to-say-no #Anthropic #StatePower #FreeSociety #FreeEnterprise #Coercion #Pentagon #AI #Principles #Policy #Hypocrisy #Business

WIST QuotationsFeb 2

A quotation from Henry Commager

But this we can say with certainty: a government and a society that silences those who dissent is one that has lost its way. This we can say: that what is essential in a free society is that there should be an atmosphere where those who wish to dissent and even to demonstrate can do so without fear of recrimination or vilification.

Henry Steele Commager (1902-1998) American historian, writer, activist
Essay (1965-12-18), “The Problem of Dissent,” Saturday Review

More about this quote: wist.info/commager-henry-steel…

#quote #quotes #quotation #qotd #commager #henrycommager #criticism #censorship #demonstration #dissent #freesociety #freespeech #freedom #freedomofexpression #freedomofspeech #protest #silencing

Commager, Henry Steele - Essay (1965-12-18), "The Problem of Dissent," Saturday Review | WIST Quotations

But this we can say with certainty: a government and a society that silences those who dissent is one that has lost its way. This we can say: that what is essential in a free society is that there should be an atmosphere where those who wish to dissent and…

WIST Quotations
Ecologia DigitalDec 11

"In any #freesociety, it is the right of every citizen to access and comment on the news, decisions, and reasonings of their #government. We believe it is a government’s responsibility to ensure this right for its constituents. #Publicinstitutions should communicate with their citizens on #openplatforms, not ones that require creating an account and sending personal data to a self-serving tech company."

Cc/ @marcoamarelo

https://blog.joinmastodon.org/2025/12/the-world-needs-social-sovereignty/

The world needs social sovereignty

The world needs to log off corporate-owned, centrally-controlled social media platforms and log on to a better way of being online. The world needs an open social web through the fediverse and Mastodon.

Mastodon Blog
Don Curren 🇨🇦🇺🇦Nov 4, 2025
“In a #freesociety, all are involved in what some are doing,” said Abraham Joshua Heschel, an American rabbi who opposed the Vietnam War and participated in the civil rights movement. “Some are guilty; all are responsible.” www.nytimes.com/2025/11/03/o...

Opinion | How to Be a Good Cit...
Opinion | These Israeli Dissidents Can Show Americans How to Be a Good Citizen of a Bad Country

And why it matters so much to try.

The New York Times
jadedctrl  Nov 3, 2025
Pretty good article on the state of the libre software ecosystem today: https://paragraph.com/@holonic-horizons/the-stallman-paradox-how-web3-became-the-ultimate-open-source-theater

It does a stellar job pointing out the problems (first 2/3), but less so the solutions. Some good points even there, though.
#lang_en #freesoftware #freesociety #opensource #libresoftware #linux #gnu
The Stallman Paradox: How Web3 Became the Ultimate Open Source Theater

Have you ever wondered why we celebrate Richard Stallman as a visionary prophet of digital freedom while simultaneously abandoning every principle he fought for? The contradiction runs deeper than you think—and the evidence suggests Web3 has become the most sophisticated extraction machine ever wrapped in open source aesthetics. This is the Stallman Paradox: the growing chasm between our intellectual reverence for genuine free software principles and our practical convergence on venture capit...

Holonic Horizons
Mert Gör 🇹🇷Aug 23, 2025
Do you know a scientist or hacker ( programmer ) who wrote a thesis like coding while socializing in other words "social code" ? #code #hacker #scientist #freesoftware #freesociety #GNU #Emacs #Linux