Opinion: Facebook Wrong to Censor Engels

    Imagine if you would, a state where the entirety of the streets and public squares fall under the jurisdiction of a select few. Further indulge this fantasy by defining the exclusion of certain groups and a few words spring up almost immediately: segregation, cartel, in-group think... but the real core of these manifest in a single form: tyranny. A tyranny exists today over those who dare dissent from established orthodoxy. Ironically, this very orthodoxy at one time lived in a place of cultural exile. No one really disputed the rights communists possessed to protest on the streets, but they didn't take them seriously either. But it is the naivety and immense tolerance of many average Americans which has allowed George Orwell's 1984 to reboot, not within a book, but within our own realm. Look no further than Central Florida for evidence. Though his bombastic attitude and sensational headlines shock many in the media, Jacob Engels and his Central Florida Post never threatened any with physical violence. In fact, he never even articulated anything overtly racist. But why then did Facebook recently terminate his page after years of longevity and a solid following of supporters?

    The answer is that they felt threatened. You see, if CNN puts out twisted headlines that may cast right-wing personalities or politicians in an amoral light, it's okay. But when someone on the local level engages in honest journalism, they must be burned at the stake for their audacity. How dare they defy the established order? Whether or not any of the claims Jacob Engels made in in his headlines were true doesn't matter. Of course, most of them were, and that's what triggered the social media cartel so badly. But at the end of the day, we in America believe that centralized power, in any malignant form, represents a dire threat of the individual. It is high time our leaders break up this raquet and return freedom of expression to those who rightly deserve it: the people. While our public squares remain under the jurisdiction of a literal mob (though in only a few cases, such as the formerly independent nation of CHAZ), our social media squares firmly fall into this category. Without question, our national discourse only has room for one side: the left. The racist author of Tom Sawyer, Mark Twain, once said: "When you find yourself in the majority, it is time to [reflect]." The book of Ecclesiastes tells us there is a season and a time for everything under the sun. It is time for average Americans to wake up and ask themselves what they believe. If it is Jacob Engels today, will it be you next?