Writer's Note; Had writer's block.
Not what to say, but I didn't know how to say what I wanted to say:
This week I had to decide if I wanted to continue the Website. I like Wix. I love BOS.
Then what's the problem?
The whole concept of Beacon of Speech is that Free Speech is under attack in America from both the Right and from the Left. I believe that more than when I started Webcasting with Ted before the Blog even started. When I wrote the book American Suicide, I didn't write it as much as it was a tumor carved out of my brain. I didn't care if I made a cent on it. That story was out of my head.
When I made the movie Blasphemers, I thought I'd make some money doing it...until my lead actor dropped out 2 days before filming. It was a win that the movie was even made. In my head, Blasphemers failed because of finances.
But the Blog, in my mind it's a success. In reality....
The original picture under the Blog entries was "borrowed" from a screen shot from a Vice Documentary about Ukraine.
It's symbolic of what I do. I stand in the fire and I throw rocks. In the grand scheme of things, that rock is doing no damage whatsoever. The chances of the smoke, fire, or a sniper killing me outweigh any measurable damage I could ever do with that rock.
And yet I still throw rocks....
Two examples illustrate my point:
Back to the picture, that guy is fighting for an independent Ukraine. Not efficiently, but in the most primitive way possible. He believes Ukraine's future should be dictated by Ukrainians. But everyday I read horrible stories at RT about the rise of Right-Wing Nationalism and Skullduggery in Ukraine. In the back of my mind, I think maybe an independent Ukraine isn't the best idea at all. Russian Leader Vladimir Putin believes that Ukraine is part of Russia. (Which is partly why he annexed the Crimea.) You could now read, for the rest of your life, nearly a thousand years of literature on why Ukraine is, or is not, its own entity. Whether the rock-thrower knows it or not, he is fighting for a real concept which could still be in doubt for another couple hundred years. Of course I think there should be an independent Ukraine. Would I bet my house that the Ukranians won't cause trouble in the future? Uh.....
In America, I am that rock-thrower, fighting for the abstract concept of freedom of speech. Every single day I read stories about the erosion of American Freedoms and wonder why no one cares. People around the world fight for the freedoms that we take for granted.
The seeds of the concept of Beacon of Speech were sowed by Jello Biafra in his nearly 4 hour Three-CD spoken word set Become the Media. Biafra talked about circumventing corporate media years before every single American had a cell phone. As mergers and mega-mergers continue to flaunt anti-trust laws across the American Media Landscape, I remind you, as I remind myself, that I am owned by no one.
That doesn't really get you anywhere in life in 2018.
....[in reality], Beacon of Speech will be a success when it can stand on its own two feet.
Let's see what Year III brings.