
© NewsBeezer.com
Hungarian PM Viktor Orban
Censorship, media bias, and the inability to speak one's mind openly for fear of professional retribution are all considered givens in the life of an American conservative. Yet, none of these things are imposed by the state. Rather,
corporate oligarchs have taken up the mantle of commissar, arbitrating what constitutes an acceptable opinion.
Tucker Carlson's recent visit to Hungary, a nation that has established itself as a bulwark of national populism and Christian traditionalism on the European continent,
has sparked debate in conservative circles regarding the degree of authoritarianism present in Hungary
and whether the United States is any better.
Critics
characterize Prime Minister Viktor Orban's government as one of state-sanctioned repression, intent on snuffing out ideological diversity in the press and otherwise silencing political opposition.
David Frum, a staff writer at the
Atlantic and a former Bush administration official, even
claimed that people in Hungary "[turn] their heads to check who [is] listening before they [lean] forward to whisper what they [have] to say" for fear of losing their jobs should they say something to offend the dominant ideology of the regime.
On the other hand,
Americans experience all this to some degree without the coercive power of the state needing to be involved. To Frum's point on Hungarians being afraid to speak freely in public (an observation that some people living in Hungary
dispute), a sizable majority of Americans also
self-censor when talking to others. Given that an offhand comment can cost you your job in the U.S.,
we shouldn't be so quick to place ourselves above Hungary.
Comment: There's a palpable sense of urgency, bordering on panic, in this latest maneuver. What is driving the vax crowd? It can't just be money.