Writing in the Internet Era

I've recently written an article about witnessing -- speaking publicly -- about what one has observed and concluded:  The Arc of the Moral Universe

And then I ran across an article encouraging people to write -- share their opinions -- and not to read and regurgitate the corporate/government propaganda found in the New York Times.

Also, one of my favorite writers, an independent blogging psychiatrist, recently had a dustup with the New York Times.  He quit writing publicly for 6 months because the NY Times threatened to reveal his true identity (he had been writing using a pseudonym) which he felt would be dangerous for him personally in terms of his career and relationships.  He resumed public blogging this month while no longer trying to hide his true identity: Still Alive - Astral Codex Ten.  Again, the New York Times does not come off well.

Reflecting on my personal life and relationships with family and friends, I note that I get many stories passed my way from the New York Times.  It occurs to me that people in my circles feel that the New York Times is a safe source of news and world view.  With the advent of Internet cancel culture, it is indeed dangerous to express opinions publicly on the Internet.  I am somewhat immune from this being retired and therefore do not have to consider possible adverse reactions from employers or potential employers down the line.

How did we get to this place, and where do we go from here?

The answer, I believe, is that we are an aging empire.  Power tends to concentrate over time such that a military / intelligence vanguard tends to call the shots with an enormous budget and behind the scenes power over the nominal rulers.  Thus, the New York Times defers to the CIA and FBI and in discussing matters at the core of our democracy such as the assassination of presidents (JFK), potential presidents (RFK), and movement leaders (MLK).  When an insurgent such as Bernie Sanders threatened the corrupt power structures, the power structure pulls together to denounce him asl a socialist (enemy of the empire).  When an insurgent such as Donald Trump threatened the status quo, the CIA and FBI worked together to falsely paint him as a treasonous agent of archenemy Putin.  When Trump threatened to remove U.S. troops from Syria and Afghanistan, or to make peace with N. Korea, he was overridden by empire central.  The power structure made race a major issue in an all out effort to destroy Trump, cancelling anyone who dared to oppose them.

In my view, these were not savvy moves by our elite.  Was it really necessary to spread intelligence agency lies to get rid of a buffoon such as Trump?  Was it in elite interest to whip up a frenzy of identity politics?  Were the assassinations of JFK, RFK, and MLK successful?  How about the 2003 war in Iraq?  The war in Afghanistan?  At best, these actions have maintained the status quo over the last 60 years.  At worst, they have eroded national unity and enthusiasm for the empire.  

Some more observations:

1. Over the past 10 years, the mainstream media (MSM) has gone from being too centrist, in my view, to being too openly partisan Democratic.  Whereas the MSM has always deferred to the power elite including, especially, the intelligence agencies, they've now going to cheerleading for the Democrats as they have fought back in kind against the crazed Republicans.  Thus, I can no longer support the sane center.
2. The cancer of identity politics and outrage culture bloomed since 2016.  Thus, people are afraid and unable to discuss political topics calmly and rationally.  The supposedly scientific debate surrounding COVID 19 has been horribly partisan and unscientific.
3. Personally, I've realized that my disillusionment with our national government following the Vietnam War and the Nixon resignation was entirely justified.  Though I managed to have a career and raise a family thanks largely to my relatively privileged upbringing, the empire has continued to rot and spread war and economic injustice.  I call my present state of mind a reawokening.

So where do we go from here, with an aging empire unmoored from rational thought and behavior?  I find it hard to believe that the mainstream media will be successful in putting the cat back in the bag -- the phony national ethos (democracy) has been exposed and the trust will not be regained after the nonsense of the last 4 years including Russiagate and woke cancel culture.  Democratic believers will soon see that the wizards of wokeness and national outrage against Putin were and are sham grifters.  When all the Trump outrage is gone there will nothing constructive in its place.  The populists will resume their assaults on the impotent cultural center.

Our job is to free ourselves sooner rather than later from the tyranny of the thought police at the New York Times and Democratic party headquarters.  A wave of new movements and leaders will arise, and it is up to us to shape popular opinion through the democratic processes which are central to our value systems and which include most prominently freedom of speech.  We must talk to one another, and promote our values and those politicians who genuinely promote our values.  We need to innoculate ourselves against military intelligence leaders who lead us to rely on their secretive and undemocratic ways.  

The Internet gives us the power to see how phony the status quo is, and how bad some of the alternatives are.  Think, people, and be constructive.  Support democrats, and oppose outrage culture and identity politicians who try to pit us against one another on the basis of race, religion, gender orientation, etc.  Majority rule, minority rights!  Peaceful resolution of conflicts to the extent possible!  Turn off the rotten mainstream media and engage more constructively with your family, friends, community, and fellow travellers around the globe.