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Just read “Banned by the Publisher.” Am skipping the sample, instead going off to Amazon to buy the book. Welcome to my author list.

I am a longtime published author (mostly periodicals, only books were very technical, nothing popular), now mostly retired.

(Can one actually retire from writing? I keep getting sucked back in.)

I was born and grew up in a Communist country. That was 50 years ago, and I first dreamed, the marveled, at the freedom in the United States, the generous country that took me in as a refugee.

I thank God every day for the wonderful life I’ve had here, but to be honest I am quite seriously worried about what is happening here. I am starting to see what I hoped I would never see again: government control of more and more things, a more and more powerful and intrusive government, the pressure to conform to politically correct thought (and yes, those of us under Communist / Socialist regimes knew about “PC-ism” long before you in the U.S. even heard of it), the oppression, ostracism, and eventual ruination and even social destruction of those who did not hew to the narrow thoughts of the narrow minds of the politically powerful.

The big, big difference between Communism / Socialism and American Democracy was that in the U.S. a free media was the watchdog of the powerful, granting the rest the freedom to question government, to decide the big issues, to have true freedom of thought and speech. In Communist / Socialist societies, the popular media — every form of popular media — instead served to reinforce the oppression by blocking, punishing, and ostracizing those who ventured off the party line. But now it is some sadness and great fear that I see the same thing happening in America, in fact in all the Western nations I’ve traveled. In universities, large newspapers, television, entertainment, and even publishing houses those who dare stray “off the reservation” are hounded and their voices extinguished wherever possible.

Fifty years on, I am still amused — though now, almost terrified — how Americans think “it can’t happen here.” Wake up, wake up — it’s already happening. The frog is being boiled slowly, but it’s almost done boiling. If you doubt it, ask yourself: Do you have more freedom today, or less than before, a far back as you remember? What direction are we going, and where does it lead? What does Nick Cole’s experience tell you?

My apologies, Nick, for ranting on your forum. It’s something about which I’m very passionate; one cannot truly appreciate freedom if you’ve not had to live without it, which is usually far too late. I thought it might help others see the problems you’ve encountered from a different perspective, one comparatively few others have experienced.

Thank you for sharing your experience. And thanks for the new book to read, too. :-)

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Fifty years on, I am still amused — though now, almost terrified — how Americans think “it can’t happen here.” Wake up, wake up — it’s already happening. The frog is being boiled slowly, but it’s almost done boiling. If you doubt it, ask yourself: Do you have more freedom today, or less than before, a far back as you remember? What direction are we going, and where does it lead? What does Nick Cole’s experience tell you?