| >Political advertising should be banned entirely This strikes way too close to throwing the 1A out the window, in all the ways that touch the everyday activities. That sci-fi book you wrote, with Lord Admiral character? It was a manifesto for a new governance system. That meme you shared online a month ago? It's now associated with a particular candidate. Your proposal voiced in parent's meeting at school? It's a political position favoring a particular social group. Not to say everything is political, no. However any single aspect of life can, and many ultimately will, be talked about and negotiated on by a politician or a political movement at some point. I often wonder how we would vote if we were blind to the opinions of the media, celebs and friends. The biggest difference would be among candidates and the policies they propose. Presently the celebs & the media gate-keep which opinions & political programs are acceptable. We effectively have two Overton Windows, and the candidates are constrained to the overlap of the two. The first Window is the usual voters' preference, expressed freely in the privacy of the voting booth. The second Window is maintained by the media - only the candidates that espouse certain views & policies get to be listed on the ballot, endorsed by mainstream parties, etc. All other ones get to be "crazy crystal lady"[1] at best, and maybe even "celebrated & defended by Russia's propaganda machine"[2]. -- [1] https://news.yahoo.com/marriane-williamson-190502156.html [2] https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2020-election/russia-s-prop... |
Printing a book that brings you to an understanding of a political idea [1] is one thing. Passively sticking your posters on other people books (after paying) is another.
Propaganda gets a lot of well deserved criticism as it is often dishonest, we simply tolerate similar dishonesty in advertisements.
[1] Whether by truth or lies does not really matter in a sense here.