Sucker for numerical patterns that I am, yesterday's date naturally appealed to me -- 1/21/21. My granddaughter Daisy (7) is the youngest of three and sometimes gets frustrated that everyone else in the family thinks they know more than she does.
So yesterday afternoon I quietly pointed out the day's numerical pattern to her so she could surprise the rest at dinner. We had it all planned out.
"What's special about today, Daisy?" I prompted.
"It's 1-2-1-2-1!" she answered.
Of course, well after dinner came an additional numerical landmark when the clock struck 21:21:21 on the 21st day of the 21st year of this 21st century, but by then Daisy was in bed.
Oh well, she'll be a year older by the time the next big moment arrives on 2/22/22. And maybe by then she'll be able to stay up to witness 22:22:22.
***
Repeatedly over the past year I've fretted about the gathering crisis in journalism, freedom of the press, mass media and censorship. As much as I strive for clarity in everything I write, this topic feels so complex and so loaded that the best I have been able to do is to inch up to it.
And usually it still somehow comes out wrong, as some of you are inclined to remind me in the comments section. (BTW, I appreciate the criticisms.)
All of this might seem to be only of academic interest until we confront the ugly reality that white supremacist extremism has burst out of the shadows to directly threaten our democracy.
How that happened has a lot to do with media of the mass and social variety and in that context, my long-time friend Jay Hirschman drew my attention to an article by Karen Attiah in the Washington Post about the media's role in promoting the rise of Trump his white extremist ideology.
<https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2021/01/20/media-had-role-play-rise-trump-its-time-hold-ourselves-accountable/?fbclid=IwAR0IOXA5D-4wBSGf53vgaO7ZA3QOIv3vQzp3P4KASeb54sGjkh21sUh9G2k>
To many in the media, Trump was simply too good a story to ignore, partly because he was seen as a buffoon unlikely to win an election but also due to his fine-tuned ability to focus media attention on himself.
Once he attained the job of President, he set to work on consolidating his grip on power by perfecting the art of the Big Lie, which is a technique of authoritarians. His ability to manipulate his followers reached such a point that he was able to sell preposterous fantasies to otherwise rational people.
He couldn't have done this without Fox News and Twitter, frankly.
It was embarrassing to hear our fellow citizens espouse far-fetched conspiracy theories with the sincerity of true believers. They sounded like the cult members who would ultimately commit mass suicide in the People's Temple massacre,
All the while, Trump was repeatedly issuing coded messages to his most extreme followers in the Three Percenters, Proud Boys, Neo-Nazis and others. His message was that the time for white supremacy had arrived. This eventually culminated in the attack on the Capitol on January 6th.
Which brings me back to the to the role played by the mass media. We've managed to banish Trump, at least for now. We also need to ensure that his kind of authoritarian regime never assumes power again. For that reason, the mass media cannot be allowed to distribute the racist, white supremacist hate speech that has re-emerged from the darkest days of our history to once again threaten the republic.
We fought one bloody Civil War over this in the 1860s; we cannot afford a second in the 2020s.
Therefore, we need to enact new forms of censorship in the mass media, (including social media) that banish white supremacist hate speech back to the dark shadows from where it emerged. This won't violate anyone's First Amendment rights if it is done as a matter of licensing in accordance with the Fairness Doctrine and other precedents.
Big Media and Big Tech may object but it's time to consider breaking them up under antitrust standards anyway -- they were complicit in the rise of Trump's supremacist movement and failed to stop it.
So this now must be done; before hate makes its inevitable comeback.
***
There, did I finally get it right?
***
The headlines:
* The media had a role to play in the rise of Trump. It's time to hold ourselves accountable. (WashPo)
* A new NPR analysis finds that nearly 1 in 5 defendants charged so far in relation to the attack on the U.S. Capitol are veterans or active-duty military. (NPR)
* Amanda Gorman Captures the Moment, in Verse -- The youngest inaugural poet in U.S. history read “The Hill We Climb,” which she finished after the riot at the Capitol. “I’m not going to in any way gloss over what we’ve seen,” she says. (NYT)
* Amanda Gorman: “This is a long, long, faraway goal, but 2036 I am running for office to be president of the United States,” she said. “So you can put that in your iCloud calendar.” (NYT)
* Yellen's call to 'act big' reflects long re-think on big government debt (Reuters)
* For Many Across America, a Sigh of Relief as a New Era Begins -- “I feel lighter,” said a woman in Chicago. For many in an exhausted, divided nation, the inauguration was a sea change, not just a transition. (NYT)
* Biden administration suspends federal oil and gas permitting (Reuters)
* Biden plans for tougher stance on Russia -- He is also preparing to impose new costs on Russia, pending an assessment of alleged interference in the 2020 election, involvement in the poisoning of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, a cyber breach of U.S. agencies and other activities. (WashPo)
* Shortly after taking office, Biden asked for the resignation of Peter Robb, the controversial general counsel of the National Labor Relations Board. After Robb refused to resign, Biden fired him. Pushing Robb out now leaves the Republican with no more time to pursue anti-labor policies at the NLRB. [HuffPost]
* The coronavirus variants could dash our hopes of getting back to normal. (WashPo)* Harris swears in Sens. Warnock, Ossoff, Padilla as Democrats cement party power in Washington (WashPo)* In California, a pro-Trump Republican leader — Shannon Grove, a state senator from Bakersfield — was ousted from her caucus leadership role after repeating false claims about the Capitol mob. (Sacramento Bee) *** I've got my ticket for the long way round The one with the prettiest of views It's got mountains, it's got rivers, it's got sights to give you shivers But it sure would be prettier with you. When I'm gone When I'm gone You're gonna miss me when I'm gone You're gonna miss me by my walk You're gonna miss me by my talk, oh You're gonna miss me when I'm gone When I'm gone When I'm gone You're gonna miss me when I'm gone You're gonna miss me by my hair You're gonna miss me by my everywhere Oh you're sure gonna miss me when I'm gone -- Anna Kendrick -30- |
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