"There is freedom of speech, but I cannot guarantee freedom after speech." - Idi Amin
That line always makes me chuckle, but it was not intended as a joke. Dictator, cannibal, soldier, amateur heavyweight boxer - Ugandan President Idi Amin was many things.
He was not a comedian.
But he did leave his ruthless power behind, living out his days in Saudi Arabia, never feeling any repercussions for his bad acts. And that's probably more typical than the well-publicized demises that were dealt out to others, like Saddam Hussein, or Moamar Gaddafi.
Here in the civilized world, we have only rarely brushed up against such malignancy in government. In most cases, it is the local officials who abuse the citizens, with impunity (if not immunity). That's why this blog exists.
When I shone the light on what my county government did to my sister - falsely besmirching her young son's death as a suicide - they went full Idi Amin on my ass. I was sued by a party who colluded with the dishonest Coroner, who did not like what I was writing about her. One of the attorneys with the county even referred me to the undersheriff for prosecution. All of that amounted to a hill of beans.
In response, I made my feelings known about the judge in the case, so the world would not mistake him for being something other than a piece of shit. Like all the other public offenders who harmed my family, he's gone now, too.
So where are we now? We're right here. When the then-County Compliance Officer first brought up the idea of taking legal action against me, this blog was only a few posts old. It had about 1,300 page views... Today, it's approaching 100,000. Power comes in many forms.
But not everywhere. I know that.
This little book of Charlie's has gone 'round the world and back, bouncing off of satellites orbiting our beautiful blue jewel of a planet, landing in the palm of your hand. I can't express to you, Dear Reader, what it means to be elevated by you - like being carried by 100,000 helium balloons, ascending. I cannot thank you more than this, cannot thank you enough.
You found Charlie from every corner of our world, including Russia, Turkey, Iran, Iraq, Hong Kong, China, Thailand, Cambodia, India, Vietnam, Indonesia, Bangladesh... And of course from the Western countries... That was just in the past month.
In many of those places, obviously, doing what I do could get you into some real trouble - freedom after speech. Imprisonment, torture and worse are not unheard of in cases where concerned citizens (like me) go out of their way to criticize and excoriate their government.
If this terribly sad story of freedom has inspired anyone, the pleasure is mine, on behalf of a boy who only got to see the first 12 years of his life. You will always have our gratitude, eternal, undying.
pH 9.25.24
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