by Pa Rock
Citizen Journalist
Acceptable speech in Donald Trump's America falls generally into one category: speech that glorifies him and promotes his unique value system. Anything else is problematic - and often unpatriotic.
There have been several stories in the press within the past few days that illuminate the Trump administration's disdain of other Americans having the right to express themselves freely - as well as to have unfettered access to news regarding their government. These stories, taken together, provide a frightening look at the evolution of a fascist state developing under the heel of a tyrannical despot.
Donald Trump has a Twitter account, one which he uses regularly and often to spew not only his personal thoughts on things, but also to announce priorities and policies that he intends to enact on behalf of the people of the United States. And while Trump's Twitter account has millions of followers, it is also, like all Twitter accounts, open to feedback on his tweets. Donald Trump is not a fan of feedback, especially feedback from those whom he regards as irrelevant or who fail to agree with him, so he has routinely "blocked" those problem people from following him. This week a federal judge ruled that Trump may not block people from following his account, an account that he has been using as an extension of government.
Trump has also stirred his base with complaints about NFL players "taking a knee" during the national anthem to protest social inequalities and police abuse of black suspects. He paints those protests as unpatriotic. Vice President Pence recently used a wad of taxpayer cash to fly to Indianapolis for an NFL game solely so that he could rise and walk out following one of those protests. This week NFL owners agreed to levy fines against teams whose players knelt during the national anthem at games. Players would instead have the option of remaining in the locker room until after the playing of the national anthem had been completed. Trump praised that decision and said that players who felt compelled to kneel should perhaps consider leaving the country.
Yesterday there was a meeting on the topic of water pollution at the Environmental Protection Agency. Representatives of several companies with histories of water pollution were in attendance, but when reporters tried to gain admittance they were denied entry. One reporter was even shoved out of the room by an EPA security guard.
And then there was the much ballyhooed meeting to share information with select members of Congress about Trump's outrageous claims that the FBI had a mole in his 2016 campaign. The "select" members of Congress were Republicans - no Democrats allowed. Even Donald Trump had trouble justifying that egregious setup, and his people finally relented and invited members of the Democratic leadership to attend as well.
Each of those incidents is concerning when viewed through a lens of free speech. The Trump administration is working to create a situation in which its narrative represents what is real in the world, and everything else is fake news. The truth is that which emanates from the White House, and everything else is just noise - and often it is seditious noise.
When the flow of public information is controlled to the point where the public is denied knowledge about much of what its government is doing, "news" becomes little more than propaganda. As this administration struggles to control what we know and how we think, true American values are circling the drain and heading for the sewer.
America was built around a package of rights, and when the right of free speech is gone, our demise as a democracy will be imminent.
Citizen Journalist
Acceptable speech in Donald Trump's America falls generally into one category: speech that glorifies him and promotes his unique value system. Anything else is problematic - and often unpatriotic.
There have been several stories in the press within the past few days that illuminate the Trump administration's disdain of other Americans having the right to express themselves freely - as well as to have unfettered access to news regarding their government. These stories, taken together, provide a frightening look at the evolution of a fascist state developing under the heel of a tyrannical despot.
Donald Trump has a Twitter account, one which he uses regularly and often to spew not only his personal thoughts on things, but also to announce priorities and policies that he intends to enact on behalf of the people of the United States. And while Trump's Twitter account has millions of followers, it is also, like all Twitter accounts, open to feedback on his tweets. Donald Trump is not a fan of feedback, especially feedback from those whom he regards as irrelevant or who fail to agree with him, so he has routinely "blocked" those problem people from following him. This week a federal judge ruled that Trump may not block people from following his account, an account that he has been using as an extension of government.
Trump has also stirred his base with complaints about NFL players "taking a knee" during the national anthem to protest social inequalities and police abuse of black suspects. He paints those protests as unpatriotic. Vice President Pence recently used a wad of taxpayer cash to fly to Indianapolis for an NFL game solely so that he could rise and walk out following one of those protests. This week NFL owners agreed to levy fines against teams whose players knelt during the national anthem at games. Players would instead have the option of remaining in the locker room until after the playing of the national anthem had been completed. Trump praised that decision and said that players who felt compelled to kneel should perhaps consider leaving the country.
Yesterday there was a meeting on the topic of water pollution at the Environmental Protection Agency. Representatives of several companies with histories of water pollution were in attendance, but when reporters tried to gain admittance they were denied entry. One reporter was even shoved out of the room by an EPA security guard.
And then there was the much ballyhooed meeting to share information with select members of Congress about Trump's outrageous claims that the FBI had a mole in his 2016 campaign. The "select" members of Congress were Republicans - no Democrats allowed. Even Donald Trump had trouble justifying that egregious setup, and his people finally relented and invited members of the Democratic leadership to attend as well.
Each of those incidents is concerning when viewed through a lens of free speech. The Trump administration is working to create a situation in which its narrative represents what is real in the world, and everything else is fake news. The truth is that which emanates from the White House, and everything else is just noise - and often it is seditious noise.
When the flow of public information is controlled to the point where the public is denied knowledge about much of what its government is doing, "news" becomes little more than propaganda. As this administration struggles to control what we know and how we think, true American values are circling the drain and heading for the sewer.
America was built around a package of rights, and when the right of free speech is gone, our demise as a democracy will be imminent.
1 comment:
This ruling makes me wonder if all the hard core radicalized Republicans who use their twitter accounts as virtual campaign and elected office media outlets will also be forced to refrain from blocking constituents. One would think so, but it may take further litigation to find out.
The question arises whether an office holder may block a bot? A bot has no standing as a taxpayer, a constituent, or a voter. Sadly it looks like we will continue down this path of verified personage in order to participate in a democracy.
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