Is Political Censorship Making Us Safer—or Smaller?

I started typing this with the smell of dark coffee curling through my kitchen. Three ideas keep getting thrown at us: censorship protects democracy, artists should shut up about politics, and science stays “neutral” by avoiding uncomfortable voices. They sound tidy. They’re also wrong. I’m Gerd, president of Free AstroScience, European to the bone, and I want peace in Ukraine now. Peace can’t exist where voices are gagged.

Here’s my single takeaway, through a single story, with a single name: Beatrice Venezi. A theatre, a podium, and a storm that sounded louder than any overture. Her appointment to La Fenice was followed by strikes announced, subscriptions threatened, and a protest that grew beyond music into ideology, long before new facts could speak for themselves.

What Happened At La Fenice Isn’t About Tempo

I read the noise. Some critics didn’t just question her; they tried to pre‑decide her. That’s not vigilance. That’s political censorship with better clothes. Even maestro Beppe Vessicchio noted that people “spoke well” of her before her supposed voting preferences entered the chat, and then the tone flipped—proof of a political switch, not a musical one . I can almost hear the click of microphones going live, and truth going quiet.

Merit Is A Score You Play, Not A Flag You Wave
Opera director Giancarlo Del Monaco, with six decades in the trenches, described Venezi as prepared, serious, and respected—someone who earned recognition in tough rooms. He pointed to her appointment at just 34 as Principal Guest Conductor at Buenos Aires’ Teatro Colón, hardly a provincial nod, and called the recent attacks ideological and, yes, tinged by gender bias . I felt the grain of the paper under my finger and wondered when credentials became optional in our arguments.

The Game Of Culture Has Changed—Pretending Otherwise Is A Luxury

As columnist Filippo Facci reminded, theatres now live or die on whether they bring people back to the seats, renew subscriptions, and reduce deficits; the myth of the demiurge conductor gives way to accountability and audience . It’s not selling out; it’s survival. The low hum of a ventilation fan in an empty hall says it better than any treatise.

What I Believe As A European Who Wants Peace
Censorship breeds rage, not safety. It drives ideas underground, where they harden. Peace in Ukraine will demand the widest possible dialogue, including views we’d rather not hear, because peace grows in sunlight, not behind curtains. I still taste the iron tang of cold air after a rain, which always feels like honesty.

A Science Lesson From A Guy Who Explains Black Holes To Kids

In science, if you censor the outlier, you sometimes censor tomorrow’s truth. We keep hypotheses alive until data kills them. That’s how progress works. Culture deserves the same method—test ideas in public, then let evidence and audiences decide. On my desk, the smooth rim of a telescope lens reminds me that clarity isn’t given; it’s focused.

One rule, everywhere I work: no political censorship. Question hard, publish criteria, test merit, and keep the door open. You can reject a programme, a reading, a season. But you don’t pre‑ban a person for their politics. The cool glass of my phone screen feels like a small promise: keep the channel open.

The Aha Moment

Years ago, I sat in a cheap seat and felt a hall vibrate like a living heart. I didn’t know the conductor’s biography. I knew the truth in the sound. That’s the moment it clicked: censorship shrinks the room. Freedom enlarges it. The velvet of the seat under my hand felt wider than the world.

So, Here’s My Stand

As Gerd of Free AstroScience, I say no to political censorship. Not because it’s edgy, but because it makes us smaller, poorer, quieter. Let merit speak. Let audiences judge. Let institutions publish standards and stick to them. And let’s keep our eyes on what matters: more light, less heat, and a Europe brave enough to host disagreement while it fights for peace. I hear the soft closing of a door behind me and hope it’s opening somewhere else.

A few facts worth keeping in our pocket as we keep talking. The protests around Venezi’s appointment were loud and pre‑emptive, dressed in politics before the music could play . A respected opera director defended her preparation and international standing, including a principal guest role at the Teatro Colón at 34 . A veteran columnist reminded us that today’s theatres live on audiences and renewals, not on myths about untouchable geniuses . And a fellow conductor observed the most telling shift of all: many praised her work until they learned how she might vote . That’s not taste. That’s tribalism. And tribalism is the thinnest mask censorship ever wore.

If we want peace, in Ukraine and at home, we start by letting people speak—and then we answer with better ideas, not tighter muzzles.