We have reached the point in our history that I fear in order to preserve the republic we may have to have to implement new levels of censorship and regulation of the mass media.
As a long-time First Amendment advocate it pains me to reach this conclusion, but there are forms of speech and disinformation so dangerous that I can think of no alternative.
For example, how can we allow the white supremacists, Neo-Nazis and racists who threaten our democracy to have access to media platforms that magnify the reach of their poisonous ideologies? Shouldn't these ideas be restricted from access to large audiences through government licensing and other methods?
Similarly, shouldn't Section 230 of the CDA, which insulates social media companies like Google, Twitter and Facebook from liability for the lies and disinformation spread by their users, be modified or eliminated?
The Big Three have begun to do restrict such speech on their own, which raises additional issues about the power of private institutions to censor speech, but may be consistent with the precedents established by the federal government to regulate radio and television content when they became mass media platforms.
No matter what the government or Big Tech companies do, individuals will remain free to think and say whatever they want to think or say, within legal parameters. Because we cannot regulate what is in somebody's heart, however regrettably awful that may be.
But to allow the conspiracy theories of QAnon and the like to receive free passage on our societal rails would be the equivalent to not enforcing the speed limits on our nation's highways.
The government built the Internet just like it built the highways.
Beyond First Amendment issues, we face the clear and immediate danger that those holding extremist views inside the military, including the National Guard, could potentially subvert the rule of law and threaten the social order. What do we do about them?
So what has brought us to this point? An elected leader whose intentions had they prevailed would have fatally damaged democracy and set us on the road to authoritarianism.
To some, new regulatory measures may seem contrary to the spirit of democracy, but if so, what alternatives do they suggest? The time to remain silent has passed.
Let's face facts: We are a nation in crisis and we have no choice but to act.
***
The headlines:
* U.S. defense officials say they are worried about an insider attack or other threat from service members involved in securing President-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration, prompting the FBI to vet all of the 25,000 National Guard troops coming into Washington for the event. (AP)
* Prospect of Pardons in Final Days Fuels Market to Buy Access to Trump (NYT)
* FBI moves on alleged members of extremist groups Oath Keepers, Three Percenters (WashPo)
* Macho Politics Defined Trump's Presidency, Culminating With Capitol Riot (NPR)
* How Republicans Are Warping Reality Around the Capitol Attack -- Loyalists to President Trump are increasingly relying on conspiracy theories and misinformation, drawing false equivalence with last summer’s racial protests and blaming outside agitators (NYT)
* Covid lockdowns, protests and election strife have led to record gun sales (WashPo)
* Wall Street may be facing an uncomfortable four years after President-elect Biden's team confirmed it planned to nominate two consumer champions to lead top financial agencies, signaling a tougher stance on the industry than many had anticipated. (Reuters)
* ‘I Answered the Call of My President’: Rioters Say Trump Urged Them On (NYT)
* Trump ends his tumultuous presidency with the nation confronting the greatest strain to its fundamental cohesion since the Civil War. The January 6 assault on the U.S. Capitol capped four years in which Trump relentlessly stoked the nation's divisions and simultaneously provided oxygen for the growth of White nationalist extremism through his open embrace of racist language and conspiracy theories. (CNN)
* Global pressure mounts for release of Russian opposition leader Navalny (WashPo)
* ‘There Is No Safe Area’: In Kabul, Fear Has Taken Over (NYT)
* President-elect Joe Biden plans to unveil a sweeping immigration bill on Day One of his administration, hoping to provide an eight-year path to citizenship for an estimated 11 million people living in the U.S. without legal status, a massive reversal from the Trump administration’s harsh immigration policies. (AP)
* As many as 7,000 migrants from Central America are hoping to reach the United States to escape poverty intensified by hurricanes and the pandemic. (NYT)
* 'There's no food': U.S.-bound migrant caravan hunkers down after Guatemala crackdown (Reuters)
* Virgin Orbit rocket reaches Earth orbit, adding an entrant to the commercial space race (WashPo)
***
The Lincoln Project is continuing its important work since the election by condemning those senators and representatives who incited the riot led by white supremacists on January 6th.
I commend their work.
Furthermore, as we continue to honor Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. this week, it is worth noting that white Christian fundamentalists have profanely violated their faith, first by justifying slavery and then by tolerating its legacy -- structural racism in America.
Shame on all of these hypocrites. And allow the story of what they have wrought to enter your heart:
In America you'll get food to eat
Won't have to run through the jungle
And scuff up your feet
You'll just sing about Jesus and drink wine all day
It's gonna be great to be an American
Ain't no lions or tigers-ain't no mamba snake
Just the sweet watermelon and the buckwheat cake
Ev'rybody is as happy as a man can be
Climb aboard, little children-sail away with me
Sail away-sail away
We will cross the mighty ocean into Charleston Bay
Sail away-sail away
We will cross the mighty ocean into Charleston Bay
In America every man is free
To take care of his home and his family
You'll be as happy as a monkey in a monkey tree
Be an American and sail away with me
Sail away-sail away
We will cross the mighty ocean into Charleston Bay
Sail away-sail away
We will cross the mighty ocean into Charleston Bay
Sail away-sail away
We will cross the mighty ocean into Charleston Bay
Sail away-sail away
We will cross the mighty ocean into Charleston Bay
-30-
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