- Feb 5, 2002
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The ominous trend toward censorship, in the news and especially in the social media, is now unmistakably clear. At this point the question is when—not whether—Christian voices will be silenced.
Unless, of course, we can do something to reverse the trend.
In the digital era, information is king. If you control access to information—and can choke off access to information that you dislike—you can consolidate rule of the world. How can skeptics challenge you, if they never receive accurate information about what you are doing? How can your opponents organize, if they lack any way to contact like-minded people?
By now you have heard the ominous stories. To cite just a couple of egregious cases:
The Italian sociologist Gaetano Mosca, writing early in the 20th century, argued that all societies are dominated by elites, in one way or another. The test of a society’s justice, Mosca said, is what he called “juridical defense”—does the system provide a way for ordinary people to defend themselves against damaging decisions by the elites that rule them? In the cases mentioned above—and the reader could probably mention many other cases—the answer is a resounding No.
Continued below.
Prepare to be cancelled
Unless, of course, we can do something to reverse the trend.
In the digital era, information is king. If you control access to information—and can choke off access to information that you dislike—you can consolidate rule of the world. How can skeptics challenge you, if they never receive accurate information about what you are doing? How can your opponents organize, if they lack any way to contact like-minded people?
By now you have heard the ominous stories. To cite just a couple of egregious cases:
- A respected social scientist, the president of a Washington think-tank, learns that his book on the “transgender” movement has been banned by Amazon. The author, Ryan Anderson, has received no explanation for the move; presumably some Amazon employee, acting behind a veil of anonymity, was offended by his views. (BTW Amazon continues to sell Mein Kampf.) Anderson remarks:If you fear what Big Tech can do if you dissent from gender ideology, just wait to see what Big Government will do if the so-called Equality Act becomes law. Second, a lesson: If you fear Big Government, don’t turn a blind eye to Big Tech.
- An An Irish Catholic bishop is blocked by Twitter because of a comment opposing assisted suicide. Twitter offered the ridiculous explanation that Bishop Kevin Doran had violated its policy against promoting suicide. Eventually Twitter recognized the blunder and restored the bishop’s account. But again a faceless employee had censored an important voice.
The Italian sociologist Gaetano Mosca, writing early in the 20th century, argued that all societies are dominated by elites, in one way or another. The test of a society’s justice, Mosca said, is what he called “juridical defense”—does the system provide a way for ordinary people to defend themselves against damaging decisions by the elites that rule them? In the cases mentioned above—and the reader could probably mention many other cases—the answer is a resounding No.
Continued below.
Prepare to be cancelled