Most of you here know that I like Mike Cernovich a lot. I appreciated him long before I ever read any of his material. His tweets alone were the stuff of legend. I still laugh when I think of the challenge he issued to Sam Biddle, for instance. But when I actually started reading his material, I realized there was a lot of depth there. Something that he once said in a column always stuck with me. Here’s the quote:

If you want to have readers, you must go deep within yourself. You must expose your vulnerabilities. People want to see you at your best after you’ve shown yourself at your worst.

It’s one of the most poignant things I’ve ever read about writing on the internet. People want to see authenticity, whether it’s good or bad. The enjoy getting to know someone and like to share in what’s going on with your life. Some people mock me because I often talk about superfluous things in the opening of my posts here. I might comment on a show I watched before I sat down to write. Maybe I drop in a reference to personal drama or talk about a topic completely unrelated to the post at hand. I don’t do it quite as much as I used to, but it’s still a part of my style. Writing means you shouldn’t be afraid to share yourself with the audience, for good or for bad.

That bit above has little to do with the topic of this article, which is appropriate given what I just wrote. I told it to you in order to show one of the many things Mike has said that stuck with me. The dude has a ton of knowledge and I would advise anyone here to read more of his work, which is why I have it linked on the side of the site. He’s also producing a film on free speech with the same guy who did the American Milo movie a few months back. You can go the the Kickstarter and throw your support behind it now. The funding is almost completed after only two days. I’m sure Mr. Cernovich has a stretch goal or two in mind, though, so don’t let that put you off. $25 will get you an early copy of the movie, which is very much worth it, in my opinion.

From the Kickstarter itself:

Things are different than they used to be. We all know the feeling of dread when posting or talking about something controversial, and this dread has silenced us. It’s not censorship. The government isn’t doing it. We are. To ourselves. Across business, education, politics, and entertainment. Many comedians are even refusing to tour college campuses due to the sensibilities of students, and posting one wrong Tweet can get you fired from a job – or worse.

Silenced explores these issues. We are going to talk to everyone, including people in tech, comedy, finance, sociology, psychiatry, clergy and of course the media. We are also going to show both sides of this issue. How far is too far, is their even is such thing?

We have begun production and are looking at a spring completion date. To market Silenced properly, it’s going to take cash money. We hope to get international distribution and will be entering the major film festivals.

*** I will not be taking a salary for Silenced. ***

My work on Silenced, including necessary legal work, will be done without pay. This is a passion project for me as much as it will be for you.

I’m looking forward to the film. I also like that it’s going to be exploring both sides of the issue instead of being a straight support piece for our perspective of the argument. That should make it more palatable to mainstream audiences and movie festivals. Advocacy is important, but a look at the dueling views on the issue of free speech will make for a much more interesting project.

So, if you have the money and inclination, go on over and support Silenced: Our War On Free Speech. Times are rough, so maybe you don’t have the cash. In that case, go read Mike’s site or the interview that I did with him last summer. Also, stay tuned for another post or two coming up this morning before I head off to the gym.