Before and after the election I was hearing quite a bit about how both Democrats and Republicans were concerned about protecting our (large “D”) Democracy. From our side, it was pretty obvious: to protect it from a fascist dictator wannabe who already tried once to overthrow legitimate election results.
But what was it from their side?
I’ve now learned that the concern seemed to center on having absolute free speech, especially on social media platforms.
Of course, we don’t have absolute free speech in the United States.
Don’t believe me?
If we did, child pornography would be legal.
And some of the concern of right wing free speech absolutists should have been remedied by Elon Musk’s purchase of Twitter (X), which now does his bidding.
But what rightwingers want is not actually “free speech”; what they want is the right to distribute disinformation without any consequences.
We’ve moved from the information age to the disinformation age. And we’re about to go there big time. Fasten your seatbelts, ladies and gentlemen, because it’s going to be a bumpy ride.
| This constant lying is not aimed at making the people believe a lie, but at ensuring that no one believes anything anymore. A people that can no longer distinguish between truth and lies cannot distinguish between right and wrong. And such a people, deprived of the power to think and judge, is, without knowing and willing it, completely subjected to the rule of lies. With such a people, you can do whatever you want. ~ Hannah Arendt |
