We of course need to do all the things you suggest, but unfortunately that will still leave us fighting against the tide, unless we address one all-important issue: CENSORSHIP.
Without freedom of speech--real (absolute) freedom of speech, not subject to the arbitrary, ever-changing and self-serving "community standards" BS--we cannot solv…
We of course need to do all the things you suggest, but unfortunately that will still leave us fighting against the tide, unless we address one all-important issue: CENSORSHIP.
Without freedom of speech--real (absolute) freedom of speech, not subject to the arbitrary, ever-changing and self-serving "community standards" BS--we cannot solve ANY of the things we want. Currently, one side gets to say whatever asinine thing it wants (however indefensible it may be in a sane world) and distribute it nonstop through every platform under the sun, while the other side is muzzled and shut out of the "conversation."
With true freedom of speech, the marketplace of ideas can sort this stuff out, and the best ideas, facts, etc., usually win.
The second biggest obstacle to the course correction we want is that we already have a Runaway Government:
1) When the lines between “private” industry and government are blurred and corporations are working ‘hand-in-glove’ as agents for the government to do its bidding, this is fascism.
2) When the technology companies—which control the flow of information and now serve as the “public square”—work with the government to censor free speech and quash dissenting facts and opinions, this is fascism.
3) When every editorial decision made by corporate media is designed to promote the government’s agenda and attack dissent, you have state media serving as an organ of government. This is what totalitarianism looks like (see North Korea).
4) When every mechanism designed to prevent corruption has itself been corrupted:
* different rules and consequences depending on ideology;
* district attorneys refusing to prosecute criminals and applying unequal treatment under the law based on political/ideological bias;
* judges, from local district judges to federal judges to Supreme Court justices, deciding cases (or refusing to even hear legitimate cases) in contravention of established law and legal precedent, subverting the precept of equal protection under the law;
* government itself flouting laws with impunity, violating the U.S. Constitution and the individual rights enshrined therein;
We are no longer a nation of laws. We are living in a post-constitution age.
5) When government fails to protect the natural/constitutional rights of its citizens, it invalidates itself.
It is time to recognize what is staring us in the face: Every lever of power has been captured and each and every one of our systems of “checks and balances” has failed us. THIS IS WHAT TOTALITARIANISM LOOKS LIKE.
Once totalitarianism is entrenched, it is extremely hard to dethrone. We can achieve the results we want, but, make no mistake, it is going to be a long, tough slog. The alternative, however, is not an option.
We of course need to do all the things you suggest, but unfortunately that will still leave us fighting against the tide, unless we address one all-important issue: CENSORSHIP.
Without freedom of speech--real (absolute) freedom of speech, not subject to the arbitrary, ever-changing and self-serving "community standards" BS--we cannot solve ANY of the things we want. Currently, one side gets to say whatever asinine thing it wants (however indefensible it may be in a sane world) and distribute it nonstop through every platform under the sun, while the other side is muzzled and shut out of the "conversation."
With true freedom of speech, the marketplace of ideas can sort this stuff out, and the best ideas, facts, etc., usually win.
The second biggest obstacle to the course correction we want is that we already have a Runaway Government:
1) When the lines between “private” industry and government are blurred and corporations are working ‘hand-in-glove’ as agents for the government to do its bidding, this is fascism.
2) When the technology companies—which control the flow of information and now serve as the “public square”—work with the government to censor free speech and quash dissenting facts and opinions, this is fascism.
3) When every editorial decision made by corporate media is designed to promote the government’s agenda and attack dissent, you have state media serving as an organ of government. This is what totalitarianism looks like (see North Korea).
4) When every mechanism designed to prevent corruption has itself been corrupted:
* different rules and consequences depending on ideology;
* district attorneys refusing to prosecute criminals and applying unequal treatment under the law based on political/ideological bias;
* judges, from local district judges to federal judges to Supreme Court justices, deciding cases (or refusing to even hear legitimate cases) in contravention of established law and legal precedent, subverting the precept of equal protection under the law;
* government itself flouting laws with impunity, violating the U.S. Constitution and the individual rights enshrined therein;
We are no longer a nation of laws. We are living in a post-constitution age.
5) When government fails to protect the natural/constitutional rights of its citizens, it invalidates itself.
It is time to recognize what is staring us in the face: Every lever of power has been captured and each and every one of our systems of “checks and balances” has failed us. THIS IS WHAT TOTALITARIANISM LOOKS LIKE.
Once totalitarianism is entrenched, it is extremely hard to dethrone. We can achieve the results we want, but, make no mistake, it is going to be a long, tough slog. The alternative, however, is not an option.