Elon Musk wants to liberate Twitter.
Have at it.
Donald Trump is a bad influence on America. We don't need to see less of him. Let's see more. Give him rope to hang himself.
In my view the great problem facing democracy is not Trump. Nor it the twenty or thirty percent of the country that actively supports him. The writers of the Constitution fully anticipated a charismatic demagogue like Trump. They also anticipated that such a figure would lead democratic rebellions willing to subvert democratic process. We have the means to protect ourselves against a Trump.
Our problem is that the republic-protecting mechanisms failed. The threat to our republic is the failure of Republican elites to check Trump. The Madisonian assumption was that ambition would counter ambition. The writers of the Constitution assumed that there would be more Liz Cheney-type people who would stand up both for principle and for the prerogatives of their offices. They assumed more Mitt Romney-type people who would vote for impeachment. They assumed more Doug Ducey and Brian Kemp governors would speak up for their state's voters. The vast majority of Republican leaders are either actively going along with Trump, or are keeping their heads down in silent consent. Instead of insisting that Trump's officials be subject to Congressional oversight, they vote against the power of their own offices. They minimize and tolerate a White House-inspired attack on themselves at the Capitol.
And, of course, the Big Lie. Somehow the same ballots that legitimately elected Republicans to the House and Senate were also fraudulently cast or mis-counted to rig the presidential vote.
The suppression of Twitter helps preserve this dangerous status quo. It sends a message that the "real truth" is out there, but we don't hear it. It is my expectation that Twitter, when allowed to be free, will self-destruct. A Twitter free-for-all will become toxic and dangerous as a source of malware and nuttiness. It will get the Craigslist experience. For years Craigslist had a free-for-all policy on advertising. It slowly became dominated by its "personals" section, where hookups and open prostitution were advertised. It became by far the largest part of Craigslist and it dominated its reputation. The site became too seedy to be a place where people would advertise anything else. Craigslist had become Pornhub. Craigslist chose to ban personal ads. Craigslist returned to a classified ad marketplace.
Nothing will hurt Trump more than will exposure. Let him rant. Let Alex Jones re-tweet him. Give Jones and Steve Bannon and Marjorie Taylor Green free rein to represent their views. The crazier Twitter gets, the more it forces Republican leaders to choose between being Trump-positive or sane. Republicans who happily voted for Mitt Romney and George Bush in past years can rediscover their Republican core. Let voters see the pure, unfiltered Trump and Q-Anon. Extremes over-reach. The crazy needs to be one-upped by the yet more crazy. Let Twitter reveal it all.
I have faith in Americans. I have faith in Republicans to see through the crazy and to re-right themselves.
11 comments:
I do agree you that letting people see the unrestrained insanity of beliefs amongst Trump and his assorted followers could potentially be a good thing, politically speaking to the extent that it alarms and motivates voters to keep these absolute nutjobs out of office.
I don't share your same faith at all though that Republicans at this point have any ability writ large to see through the crazy and re-right themselves as you optimistically espoused. The few elected Republicans that see through this craziness and speak out against it (Cheney, Kinzinger, Romney) at this point aren't even considered Republicans by the vast majority of those would label themselves as such. There's such a strong pull away from factual information at this point on the right that I honestly don't see how the Republican party at large could ever get back to good faith governance instead of actively pursuing what appears to be outright fascism. We'll see I guess.
With Musk in charge of Twitter, our slippery slope just got steeper:
Those who cannot remember history are condemned to repeat it. George Santayana, 1905
If you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it, people will come to believe it. Joseph Goebbels, 1941
Charles Johnson, one of the far-right’s most notorious trolls, had been banned from Twitter for seeking donations to “take out” DeRay McKesson, a BLM activist. According to a Wall Street Journal report, he may soon get his account back, thanks to Elon’s devotion to “free speech.”
Musk is a guy who wants to terraform Mars by nuking it. It sounds like Twitter is destined to become a haven for angry, delusional nutjobs – kind of like the GOP. About all I can say is, Covfefe!
Is this satire?
Having faith in the Republican party is misguided wishful thinking. Beginning 30 years ago the party has systematically purged any with integrity.
Romney? You must be kidding. Cheney?...Cheney??
Those mythical "Republican elites" you hang your hopes on are long gone, cowed or converted. No Republican dares to reject MAGA, which is fascistic, outright as being un-Republican or even unsavory. It is who they are.
Twitter and other social media platforms are basically the Tower of Babel. My sense is all that cacophony cancels each other out and like all outrage and shock entertainment it will to escalate to a point of self-destruction. Not fast enough for me, but eventually all that will be left are cat videos.
The idea of free speech is one that has developed in regard to what government can prohibit. Court opinions through the years have continually struggled with and developed this concept. I have advocated free speech absolutism in this context, although I remain intrigued with post-war Germany's relatively successful prohibition of pro-Nazi speech.
Twitter is not the government, nor is it the public square, as Mr. Musk states. It is a private forum, among many. While the government may not prohibit certain speech, it may aid in allowing redress for damage, such as in libel lawsuits.
Allowing one's private forum to be used to harm people during a pandemic by publishing false information which causes that harm or advocating an insurrection, may be libelous or, at least, bad policy for the owners of the forum.
Unfettered free speech does not guarantee or even promise that the right result will win out or, at least, prevail with an expeditious time period. We can think of many arguments with moral overtones which will never be settled. People advocated against slavery for hundreds of years and, while helpful in converting the opinions of some, did not, in itself, eliminate slavery. Awaiting action, many individuals continued to suffer its abuses.
So, let's keep the light of truth shining against the evils you mention and in a hundred years or so, almost no one will see them as anything but bad. In the meantime we should continue to block their voices from as many of the private forums as we can.
Twitter is definitely the public square these days. All the journalists and cultural influencers are there. That it is owned by private corporation and not controlled by the government is irrelevant.
What’s being left out of this discussion is the possibility that Elon Musk (being smarter than all of us put together) will come up with something that none of us can foresee that will be enormously beneficial. Given Musk’s track records so far, I wouldn’t bet against him.
In the meantime we should continue to block their voices from as many of the private forums as we can.
That’s great until you start to wonder who “we“ is. Whoever they are, can we actually afford to trust them?
Benjamin Franklin once said, "Those who would give up essential Liberty to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety."
A little clarification:
The government can, does and should restrict speech under certain circumstances. The Supreme Court has recognized that the First Amendment permits restriction n a “few limited areas,” including obscenity, defamation, fraud, incitement, fighting words, and speech integral to criminal conduct. Reasonable and prudent social media sites should do the same.
I just checked a Pew Research website which states only about 22% of Americans use Twitter. Maybe it's as insignificant as it appears. Maybe Musk and his cohorts can do whatever they like and the impact will be small. Maybe he'll sell a few cars and maybe he'll rant at Elizabeth Warren some more. Maybe it won't matter much.
Phil, while most Americans don't use Twitter the problem lies in that mainstream media amplify the messages, giving them the veneer of credibility.
Let's face it: without complaints (by someone) the media does not have any stories. And social media is full of whiners who, in previous times, would be the guy standing on the corner whose rants are ignored by passersby.
Musk is concerned with what's beneficial to Musk.
Unfortunately, people follow his lead, just like Trump.
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