It’s no longer safe for writers like me to express my truth and give voice to the dispossessed, marginalized, and oppressed among us. Our speech is now censored. Here in my adopted homeland, to protest and write about the horrors being inflicted on the Palestinian people has been criminalized. Likewise, for criticisms about our Dear Leader and his policies.

For people like me, such crimes are punishable with incarceration, deportation, or both. Without due legal process. The First Amendment of our Constitution, regarding Freedom of religion, speech, and the press; rights of assembly and petition, has become invalidated or applicable only to political loyalists.

Such is the nature of life for writers under authoritarian regimes. To ensure my safety and that of my sons, I must self-censor what I write. I must be careful, too, with whom I associate, lest I’m accused of being an enemy of the state. If you believe I’m overreacting, you have not been paying attention.