I can’t stand it!

You mean this thing?

No, I mean that thing!

I don’t know where this idea began that there is a particular form of courage that consists of never censoring one’s ideas, thoughts, words, emotions, etc. in consideration of one’s audience. It seems to me that context IS everything. In fact it’s hard to imagine how to meaningfully express oneself outside of context. (There’s a finer philosophical point to be made about language, but for the purposes of this context, it’s not worth discussing in great detail.). No matter the level of abstraction, meaning forces a dialogue, a discourse, which requires further adjustment, correction, clarification, nuance, etc.

The truth is we don’t have the time to understand one another. Twitter makes it seem as if discussions take place outside of context. And indeed, the joy we feel upon learning of a new Twitter spat is trying to uncover the reasons that led to the dispute.

But of course I’m not drawing a hard line between self-editing and self-censorship, because I’m not really sure where or what that line is. For example, I would describe myself politically as progressive. But if I found myself among a group that is overwhelmingly conservative, I would refrain and decline from getting into political discussions because I generally don’t like to waste my time. Meaning is also survival, pleasure-seeking, avoidance of pain.

It’s painful to be misunderstood. Even more painful to be ignored. And more painful still to work to be better understood.

So the dream of liberation from self-censorship is also the dream of the carefree life. Where everything comes at no cost. And a lot of things in life come at little to no cost. So we can make a habit of never censoring ourselves. But it could be a bad habit, a lazy habit, the habit which treats discipline and effort as shackles.