Comment from Peter Saxon
Watching the mayhem at the Capitol as it unfolded on Thursday morning, AEST, one observer noted that many people were carrying American flags, but they were outnumbered by those with Trump flags.
Later, Brian Kilmeade on Fox & Friends was horrified by what he saw: “To put up a Trump flag and take down the American flag is not patriotic — it was one of the worst things I’ve ever seen.”
That’s it, right there. When I promised you yesterday, in Part One of this article, that I’d reveal what I think is the most important reason a character like Donald Trump is Kryptonite to a western democracy, that’s what I meant.
A demagogue, like Trump, that comes to be worshipped by a significant section of voters, who put their fealty to one person above their nation and the rule of law, is incompatible with democracy – leading to a dictatorship.
Unless some calamity intervenes, in a little over a week, Trump’s presidency will be over and Joe Biden’s will begin. But that won’t be the end of it.
The rebellion may have been put down, for now, but Trump still commands armies of adoring fans, 2-3 times the population of Australia. The vast majority of them, having been fed a litany of lies about the “deep state” and “the stolen election,” are as brainwashed as the citizenry of North Korea. Many will go to their graves in the paranoid belief that everyone but Trump and other loyal supporters like them, are their enemies – Government and Mainstream Media, chief among them.
As more details from last week’s riots emerge, the term “Domestic Terrorism” becomes more apt. De-radicalising the more militant elements within this giant “Cult of Trump” will be a long and painstaking effort.
It starts with all the lawmakers and the MSM making a concerted effort to restore the trust in them that Trump has so effectively eroded over the past four years.
If ever president-elect, Joe Biden, needed to exercise his much-lauded ability to ‘reach across the aisle’ and find common ground with his opponents, it is now.
This is not a left or right thing, nor a Republican or Democrat thing. It is a non-partisan thing that requires the trust of all politicians to bring some decency back into politics.
They need to dial the heat and tone of argument back a few notches. They need to play the ball, not the man, or woman. Most of all, they need to be seen to be working for the common good of the people rather than to be busy squabbling with each other and scoring political points.
They can start with a bi-partisan committee to come up with ways improve their arcane voting system and make it more transparent before the next election.
A caretaker period for a lame duck president, similar to what we have here in Australia, might be worth some consideration too.
Mainstream Media must also win back the trust of audiences and shake off the Fake News mantle ascribed to it by that champion of the 1st Amendment (freedom of speech and press), Donald Trump.
MSM and Talk Radio in particular, should know that choosing to cheer for one side of politics while constantly booing the other, 24/7, is not the same as choosing a music format. Talk in bubble can have real consequences, as the events of last week have shown.
Radio, too, could dial the tone and volume of debate down a tad. But most of all, it needs to tell the truth – and call out lies and misinformation from callers and other participants – not by denigrating them but by countering falsehoods with facts.
MSM needs to re-establish itself as the real news with opinions that are evidence based and anchored in fact, well researched and logically thought out as opposed to some wacky conspiracy theory to entertain the gullible, which is what keeps alternative or fringe media afloat.
And no, MSM should be under no obligation to lend their platform to every nut job with a tin foil hat and a conspiracy theory to peddle – even if it is the President of the United States.
Although I’m not usually a fan of de-platforming people I disagree with, I believe that Twitter has been courageous in doing the right thing and banning Donald Trump – not because I disagree with his views but because his lies are demonstrably dangerous.
The question is whether Twitter, Facebook and Instagram are part of the MSM or are they just fringe dwellers?
In my opinion, the social giants should be like other MSM and be subject to the same laws, content codes and provisions as they’re applied in each country where they operate.
I see no reason why trolls hiding behind, say, Facebook’s cloak of anonymity should be allowed to harass, humiliate, threaten and defame innocent people without anyone involved facing legal consequences for the suffering they cause.
Having said that, I applaud Twitter’s decision to dump Trump. Losing his notoriety, his larger-than-life persona and his 88 million followers, along with the traffic that generates, will mean a significant loss of revenue for them.
Over the past five years Donald Trump has dominated the internet, the airwaves and all MSM, arguably like no other person in history, with the possible exception of Adolf Hitler.
The constant publicity, good and bad, has been Trump’s life-blood. It’s time that all responsible media has the courage to turn off his oxygen. Let him start up his own cable channel on the fringes. He’s a one trick pony. Without the ongoing fake culture war to fight in MSM – The Real News Media – his fans will soon get bored and so will he.
Want to Make America Great Again?
MSM should promote Science over Stupidity. Education over Ignorance. Reason over Rant. Fact over Fiction.
Peter Saxon
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