I turn 25 tomorrow. As such, today’s thread will be very brief. I will have comments on Joe Manchin and democracy in the free newsletter, out soon.
For now, see this related polling on a slide in collective faith in our democracy since January 6th. A CNN poll also reveals the depth of disbelief in the results of the 2020 election among Republicans — nearly 6 in 10 think the contest was decided by “illegal voting,” which is non-existent, and half say the mob that invaded the Capitol on January 6th "was led by violent left-wing protestors trying to make Trump look bad."
I will again point out the strength of the case for big institutional reform in the public letter tonight. The point here is that political psychology also makes it difficult to convince voters of the scale of the problem. That, in turns, affect legislator behavior, and the cycle persists.
In the comments, let me know about the reforms you think might help decrease the effects of misinformation and political mega-identities on the political mind. That’ll make for some exciting birthday reading! ;)
Happy Birthday, Elliott! Let's roll around Sol some more! Quarter of a century is a nice moment for looking past, present, and future in one's life and in the world. Play some great music, daydream. . .invent, create, propose, imagine. Imagine.
In re what to do to decrease the impacts of misinformation and political mega-identities.
1. Broaden our horizons. Look outside our boxes. Look at history for clues as to how this kind of situation has played out in previous societies. Look at other parts of the US body politic. In specific, are voters of color increasing? Apparently so, because felonious Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said that had he not prevented mail in ballot applications from being sent out, Trump would have lost Texas. Biden, presumably, would have won Texas. Why is this Paxton not under indictment right now? https://www.newsweek.com/texas-ag-says-trump-wouldve-lost-state-if-it-hadnt-blocked-mail-ballots-applications-being-1597909. So rather than lather and lash over GOP mendacity and cupidity, let's look at their platform - social media.
2. We can regulate social media - and it's worth pondering how this post Reagan society allowed the creation of an entirely unregulated communications platform. It appears that Facebook's father, Mark Zuckerberg, Harvardian though he is, had a childlike belief in fair play and the people. He apparently thought that the mass of society would wash away the dirt of falsehood perpetrated in Facebook posts. https://www.nytimes.com/2021/06/04/opinion/zuckerberg-trump-facebook-jan-6.html So one guy and his board, including UK's ex Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg, have the power to run a mainstream media company without any regulatory oversight that has the interest of the public as a specific focus.
From everything I've read, nothing works at scale. Including this: Spend one-on-one time with another, locked in a room, having a personal and meaningful conversation with foundational facts veiled in fluffy individualistic stories. This seems to be the most effective.
No broad reforms are going to be possible, imagine trying to pass a "fairness doctrine" right now? Lol.
Nothing is going to change until a bunch of suburban Kens and Katie's get physically harmed — then everyone will start caring. People pay attention to violence; not any of this wonky in-between election stuff.
Happy birthday! I remember turning 25, Jimmy Carter was President!
Happy Birthday, Elliott! Let's roll around Sol some more! Quarter of a century is a nice moment for looking past, present, and future in one's life and in the world. Play some great music, daydream. . .invent, create, propose, imagine. Imagine.
In re what to do to decrease the impacts of misinformation and political mega-identities.
1. Broaden our horizons. Look outside our boxes. Look at history for clues as to how this kind of situation has played out in previous societies. Look at other parts of the US body politic. In specific, are voters of color increasing? Apparently so, because felonious Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said that had he not prevented mail in ballot applications from being sent out, Trump would have lost Texas. Biden, presumably, would have won Texas. Why is this Paxton not under indictment right now? https://www.newsweek.com/texas-ag-says-trump-wouldve-lost-state-if-it-hadnt-blocked-mail-ballots-applications-being-1597909. So rather than lather and lash over GOP mendacity and cupidity, let's look at their platform - social media.
2. We can regulate social media - and it's worth pondering how this post Reagan society allowed the creation of an entirely unregulated communications platform. It appears that Facebook's father, Mark Zuckerberg, Harvardian though he is, had a childlike belief in fair play and the people. He apparently thought that the mass of society would wash away the dirt of falsehood perpetrated in Facebook posts. https://www.nytimes.com/2021/06/04/opinion/zuckerberg-trump-facebook-jan-6.html So one guy and his board, including UK's ex Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg, have the power to run a mainstream media company without any regulatory oversight that has the interest of the public as a specific focus.
3. In re West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin, who appears to be enjoying swinging his dick right now. Who are his donors? https://www.opensecrets.org/members-of-congress/joe-manchin/summary?cid=N00032838. That's whom to pressure, in public and private. Other ways to reason with him: keep it legal, now.
4. Do some forecasting. . .
From everything I've read, nothing works at scale. Including this: Spend one-on-one time with another, locked in a room, having a personal and meaningful conversation with foundational facts veiled in fluffy individualistic stories. This seems to be the most effective.
No broad reforms are going to be possible, imagine trying to pass a "fairness doctrine" right now? Lol.
Nothing is going to change until a bunch of suburban Kens and Katie's get physically harmed — then everyone will start caring. People pay attention to violence; not any of this wonky in-between election stuff.
Happy birthday eve buddy 🙌🏼