Given that when we survey people presently, large proportions (sometimes a majority) say that they're scared to express many views, opinions, and arguments, inc

Given that when we survey people presently, large proportions (sometimes a majority) say that they're scared to express many views, opinions, and arguments, including across most of the political spectrum, it's probably the case that this is at least starting to become a pretty big issue, even if many of its affects are still invisible. I think because this political issue started off (and sometimes still centers upon) a lot of weird or silly fringe things, many smart people wrote it off years ago as "yeah, this is stupid and clearly a non-issue". And if you think this problem only spans the extent of what headlines various clickbait outlets may produce from it, you would perhaps even be right. But the true problem here expresses itself in a much more subtle and permeating manner: in the form of millions of people remaining silent when they wish they could instead speak up for themselves; and I can unfortunately personally state with confidence that most of the brightest and nicest people I know are a subset of this group, and their arguments are no longer heard as speaking up simply does not past even the most basic of cost/benefit analysis anymore. Even so, this doesn't mean it is the fault of a specific institution or person. One could, as the leader of an institution, sincerely state "We will not punish anyone for speech of this nature", but yet it may do nothing to remedy the problem, since one cannot guarantee individuals won't be negatively affected in other ways.