Silence is Compliance
“Silence is compliance,” words that have changed my way of thinking and thus my life. I don’t think a day goes by that these words don’t ring through my head and influence my actions in one way or another. There are so many quotes, people, events and incidents that have had an impact on me over the years I can’t really say what has affected me the most. I’m sure it’s a combination of everything I’ve experienced and absorbed that has made me the person I am today. That has got my mind thinking the way it does and has inspired me to do the things I now do. Many of you might be asking yourself what I’m talking about, who I am and what it is that I do. I’ll do my best to explain.
My name is Anthony Antonello, a Pittston native who grew up in Duryea and graduated from Pittston Area High School. Enlisting in the Army following high school led to driving tanks for seven years before being given a medical discharge as a result of a knee injury. Many years of helping people back home followed in the roles of EMT, firefighter, rescue scuba diver, ski patrol member and Captain of a rope rescue team. As you can imagine, I probably witnessed more by the age of twenty-five than most people do in their whole life. No doubt many of those experiences have prepared me for my life today. But why is all this relevant? Well, I’d like you to have some background and context so you can better understand what makes me tick and what motivates me to continue down this new path I have taken.
For as long as I can remember, I’ve had a feeling that something wasn’t right in the world—that some pieces of the puzzle were missing. I couldn’t put my finger on it, but I just knew something was “off.” I recall writing people with brief articles discussing some of the things that are expected of us as Americans, and commenting myself about how we blindly accept them without question even when they defy all aspects of logic and common sense. Reflecting on this now, I guess it was a natural progression of what I consider critical thinking that has brought me here. Where’s here? Well, from those days fast-forward six years and I am now a political activist turned investigative journalist who has broken many pertinent stories and confronted some of the most powerful people in the world with some of the most controversial stories to be found anywhere. The list of people I have confronted or interviewed includes former Presidents of the United States, presidential candidates, former and current Speakers of the House, dozens of US Senators, US Congressmen, governors, bankers, media moguls, main stream journalists, and political pundits—and all of whom extending across both sides of the false left/right paradigm, and easily numbering in the hundreds. Calling mainstream talk radio stations (as well as alternative media), making videos of all kinds for the world to see—surely, my words have reached millions of people.
So, how does someone who only took politics as seriously as most people do (which, unfortunately, isn’t seriously at all) arrive at the point where political activism and journalism becomes his life’s passion? I would have to say, “information.” I used to think I knew what I was talking about whenever I tried to talk politics. I suppose it’s human nature to be naïve and to always think you know what’s going on. Only now, after all this time and after embarking on this long journey can I honestly say I didn’t have a clue what I was talking about. All I was doing was regurgitating whatever talking points I heard from those presented to me as experts. I can even remember occasions when some well-intentioned soul would attempt to show me something—hard evidence even—but, I refused to acknowledge it or even look at it, for that matter. If it was something that was contrary to my beliefs it would make me feel un-American or un-patriotic to even give a passing consideration to the idea. How people can be so closed-minded will be a topic for another day, but we can rightly ask how someone would be able to make an objective decision when they don’t even look at evidence which challenges their own perspective?
Fortunately, it’s my understanding of this dynamic now that helps me to better communicate subjects to people who would normally not be open to them. I must also always keep myself in check, to avoid talking about too many subjects, having studied them in depth, and knowing that blindly trusting any one source is foolish, as is trusting multiple sources if they’ve all been caught misleading, and so showing they have an agenda other than the truth, or, yes, even straight-up lying. That’s why I always try to apply common sense, logic and critical thinking when seeking to connect the dots and cover a story, while at the same time keeping an open mind and staying humble. Simply being aware of having been in error in the past doesn’t imply I’m always correct now. But, these days it takes a lot to surprise me, reporting news on a regular basis that most people don’t want to believe.
So, I’ve sharpened my skills to disseminate information using the most effective methods I can. Knowing history tells us what is possible, but following current trends and patterns shows us what is probable. After that, it’s up to us. Too many people view being an American as akin to being a spectator. Sadly, after decades of celebrity worship and just watching the world through a box, they forget the power inhered in them as individuals. Make no mistake about it, this country was not intended to be ruled by a few elite who do not have the best interests of the rest of us in mind. It was meant to be OF, FOR and BY the people, that every one of you has a say, that you all matter. And I’m here to remind you of that. I’m also here to remind the elite that America is waking up, and we WILL be taking our country back.
