Sex, Drugs and Rock and Roll!

Wow, it’s been ages!  Life got in the way, but I’m back, and boy, has a lot happened since I’ve been away.  I’m pleased I’m here in Cornwall; life here is different and a world away from Twitter 😊

I guess you’re eager to know why I chose this title and where the phrase “Sex, Drugs, and Rock & Roll” came from. It first appeared in a 1969 LIFE magazine piece. In 1977, the phrase took off after Ian Dury released a song using the expression in the title. Then came a 2010 biographical film about Ian Dury’s hedonistic lifestyle, which stuck. It’s a great film, by the way.

But how do Sex, Drugs, and Rock and Roll relate to my blog? Fortunately, or unfortunately, whichever way you view it, it’s not my autobiography; that would be much more interesting 😊. 

The link is “freedom of speech.”  We all appreciate freedom of speech as the bedrock principle of democratic societies, however in the 60’s and 70’s, many songs related to sex, drugs and rock and roll were banned.  This caused much debate about the freedom to express oneself, even if they were risque.  Banned songs were always my favourites, but I guess that’s my rebellious streak coming out. Freedom of speech is also very important to me.

As someone who doesn’t sit on the fence (it’s too boring), I strongly believe everyone should have the right to express opinions without censorship, restraint or legal penalty. However, here is the important bit: freedom of speech completely differs from hate speech, which has become a huge problem and, in my view, endangering our democracy.

To be clear, hate speech is any form of expression through which speakers intend to vilify, humiliate, or incite hatred against a group or a class of persons based on race, religion, sexual identity, ethnicity, disability, or national origin. Hate speech is commonly spread via social media platforms, and in my humble opinion, the line is being crossed.

I don’t know how to fix this, but I hope someone does soon because, without a fix, we’re doomed. That sounds dramatic, but our right to speak freely is a prerequisite for all our other freedoms and living in a free society. Can you imagine no defence at a trial?

Moving on to something more cheerful, how many of you shop online for groceries, and is your supermarket as bad as mine? To avoid using hate speech, I won’t name them, but……..coffee (strength 5) substituted with coffee (strength 2)—WTF!

Lastly, I wanted to talk about a “call to action.” During my sales and marketing training, I was always taught to end my written communications with a “call to action,” which refers to the next step a marketer wants its audience to take after reading their marketing bumph or, in my case, my blog.  It can be as direct as “click here to BUY NOW” or softer, such as “read more”,. It’s getting your audience to do a specific action, so I thought I’d try it.  I’ve racked my brains to think of something that didn’t sound like I was lecturing about Free Speech so the only call to action I could think of is, wait for it!

Stay classy….

Thank you for reading and sharing my blog to raise autoimmune disease awareness.  I’m good for those who have asked, thanks to lots of exercise, particularly Yoga, a good diet and lots of fun.

Until next time xxxx