[echelon]

> And if you think nobody in America wants to jail journalists and media CEOs, go look at any forum with a substantial amount of Republicans talking freely.

I'm a liberal and would like to point out that fellow liberals say the same about conservatives. We're wasting energy and making enemies fighting a narrative warfare, and it's frankly very stupid.

Jail the their protestors, but not our own. Deplatform their voices and curtail their free speech, but not our own. It's the exact same behavior in both sides, yet both parties rush in to say how they're different and morally correct.

We need to mend ties, not strain them further. We're becoming too polarized, and that's exactly what authoritarians that eye the end of Democracy and its influence want. We're focused on fighting our petty squabbles instead of positioning ourselves in the global sphere.

If you think any of our manufactured crises are even in the same order of magnitude as what Ukraine is facing right now, then they're already winning.

My worry isn't in owning or being owned by the other party. It's that Democracy is shown to be less effective, that free speech is put in a box, and that we end the century in shackles. No future under those pretenses is worth looking forward to.

[dehrmann]

> Deplatform their voices and curtail their free speech, but not our own

If there's one thing Democrats and Republicans agree on, it's that tech isn't censoring the things they want censored.

[moate]

I'm currently debating how many burner accounts I should make to upvote this, because this so succinctly describes the situation. Everyone wants the thing they hate gone, and hates the the other side feels the same way about something they love.

(note to mods: after debate, the answer was 0, plz no rate limtz)

[kbelder]

I upvoted it for you.

Someday, I'll come for repayment.

[natechols]

Nearly all of recorded human history has been rule by gangsters - the liberal democracies of the rich world are an aberration, not the norm. I think about this almost daily and it terrifies me.

[phs318u]

Yes! I often wonder whether, in the far future, there will even be historians that know that for a brief moment in time - a couple of centuries - a historical blip - there was a significant chunk of the world where the masses could educate themselves and rise above their origins, without fear of reprisal from the state.

What I fear most is a return to the historical mean - where the vast majority are mere peasants. Ignorant, and systematically oppressed, restrained, and exploited.

[president]

Agreed. If there's anything I've learned over the years, it's that Democrats and Republicans are equally nasty. The only difference is one side is much more powerful because they are supported by virtually every cultural institution that exists.

[cymian]

Bingo

[throwaway5752]

The global fascist movement has had success hijacking the Republican party and some parts of the left (eg Gabbard). Largely the success on the right was greater because of affinity toward aggrievement in the electoral base that was more susceptible exploitation, but it also reflects the more mature financial channels (eg NRA).

But this is not a left/right political issue. That is incidental. The social exploit of this foreign operational is orthogonal to political ideology and both side stand to suffer substantially. Trump's lack of conservative ideology bona fides are well documented.

[cabalamat]

I agree. The US culture war helps dictators like Putin and Xi.

[LegitShady]

tnat doesnt solve the problems it just makes the stakes higher.