Update 10/3/2022: Supreme Court turns back effort by MyPillow CEO Lindell to toss $1.3 billion defamation suit (yahoo.com)
Are those who fall for lies and propaganda suckers or victims? Both. To the extent they want to believe what they cannot prove, they are suckers. They have also become willing victims of the messengers of political manipulation conveyed by the new and penetrating reach of social media. So many are now living in the age of irrationality, yet democracy's survival requires us to live in the age of reason.
As more and more participants in the violence of January 6 receive prison sentences and over 800 will have a stain of charges of crimes and guilty pleas on their records, Donald Trump is still playing golf. It is clear from what we have learned from the January 6 committee, Trump was told by both his family and his own attorney general he had lost the election, and there was not enough fraud to have made any difference. Nonetheless, he continued with the big lie. There is no doubt most of those arrested for rioting on January 6 felt they were saving democracy from a fraudulent election. The person they trusted, Donald Trump, told the it was so, even though every judge, 60 of them, ruled there was no widespread fraud, as well. Even a year and a half later, after many audits, either official or run by friends of Trump, no evidence has emerged. Still, over half of those identifying as Republicans believe that Trump was a victim of fraud. PolitiFact | Most Republicans still falsely believe Trump's stolen election claims. They are true believers, divorced from reality and rational thought, trying to explain they were not suckers because of so many theories and " what about" floating around that give them straws they can grasp to give them reasons to believe they were not taken for fools. The rank and file true believers have paid no price for holding those beliefs, but those who acted on them with violence have. The Constitution protects those who believe in something and voice it peacefully, but those who turn their beliefs into acts of violence are not protected. A poll by the University of Chicago: Doomsday? Nearly half of "strong Republicans" believe it's almost time for armed violence | Salon.com. Never before in modern history has the rank and file individual by individual been reached by those in power with such effect because of the nature of social media and its ability to be tailored to those who would be receptive to their message/. The tool to tailor make messages to an identified receptive group is due to the use of "algorithms." It allows those who had a history of rejecting or believing a message from a certain source from being contacted or educated, or targeted. It makes it difficult to know what, why, and how "the other side" is thinking.. That is the challenge social media presents to democracy. It is not choosing among viewpoints in a marketplace of ideas. There is a little marketplace, little side-by-side comparisons, as each side seeks refuge in the media with which they already agree and with which they feel comfortable. The only antidote left is the nerve-shattering political advertising near election times which depends on the fundraising ability of the candidates for office. It is a corrupt system that is based on the ability to appeal to those with the most money who now can remain anonymous, thanks to the Supreme Court ruling on Citizens United. Even that ability to know who is funding a candidate to make a rational choice based on disclosure has been subverted by this decision.
It takes the ability to apply critical thinking to sort the wheat from the chaff, fiction, and propaganda from reality and truth. Those who want their lies to be taken as truth and to make the rest of those inclined to agree with them have laid the groundwork by dismissing evidence and proof to the contrary as always being fake news manipulated by some cabal and conspiracy of the opposition. In a democracy, it should be the responsibility of all citizens to be able to demand evidence and proof in place of fantasy, wishful thinking, and what-ifs. It was the faith of our founders, products of the age of reason, that ability to do so would make democracy work. There is reason to believe that a significant chunk of Americans subscribes to the age of irrationality. Irrationality is the underlying threat to the continuation of democracy, rule by the people through their fairly and freely elected representatives.
Citizens United Explained | Brennan Center for Justice
Other than hand wringing, what is the solution? We can start with teaching civics again and include in that a segment on critical thinking and how to deal with social media. I am a firm believer that students receiving a high school diploma should be able to pass the same citizenship exam given to those applying for citizenship. * Only nine states and the District of Columbia require one year of U.S. government or civics, while 30 states require a half year and the other 11 states have no civics requirement.
Another, repair the damage done by Citizens United and redo campaign finance disclosures. How this can be done given the current makeup of the Supreme Court is a challenge.
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