What would happen if Facebook and Twitter had allowed Conservatives and Right-wingers the freedom to express themselves in the same way which they allow Leftists?
For too long, Facebook and Twitter supervisors and overseers have been shutting down the free speech of Conservatives and anyone aligned with them. Today, had they seen fit to allow some leeway in the free speech of these users, they might not be having to defend themselves so vociferously against the assault from the Left that is currently being waged by the 2020 candidates in the Democrat Party.
One of the most amazing qualities of being an American citizen is having access to our 1st Amendment, one that guarantees our freedom of expression. The Left has spent so much time arguing against the freedoms of our Constitution that they never stopped for a moment to consider the possibility that they may be shutting down their own freedoms. As a consequence, Facebook and Twitter officials are learning the hard way how diminishing or deleting the statements of people in opposition to your beliefs will ultimately lead to calls for your own silencing.
The cancel culture of the new Progressive Left has only served to stymie the growth of those platforms because of its incessant focus on pleasing the politically correct police.
There is really nothing that you can say in defense of censorship. Once the floodgates are opened, there is nothing to stop the Barbarians at the gates. The greatest defenders of free speech today are the Conservatives. Once upon a time, the Liberal establishment were the chief defenders of this concept. Yet years of a fascination with autocratic or Communistic tendencies have served to silence anyone on the Left with the thought that freedom of expression was an innate attribute. The Alan Dershowitzes and John Stossels of the Libertarian world are few and far between. If one today wishes to express the concept of free speech, he or she must be Conservative.
The platforms around which Facebook and Twitter are built originally served as a jumping-off point for all those possessed of a spirit to express themselves in a new and liberating way. The cancel culture of the new Progressive Left has only served to stymie the growth of those platforms because of its incessant focus on pleasing the politically correct police. Once these strictures are removed, the sky's the limit, when referencing American entrepreneurship.
Facebook and Twitter officials could literally fix their problems overnight if they opened themselves up to a platform that was free to everyone, not just to those who slavishly serve a Leftist ideology. A free and open platform easily accessible by both Liberals and Conservatives would undoubtedly become a thriving social media success. Nowhere in the playbook of successful businesses is it written that in order to achieve the next level of financial gain one must hamstring half of your potential customers. In the case of Facebook and Twitter, they are not only hamstringing their customers, but they are also inadvertently victimizing them by treating them as third-class citizens.
There’s no doubt that the folks in charge over at these social media giants are driven primarily by their own personal and ethical beliefs. There’s also no doubt that they are tremendously influenced by the people who work for them. Does anyone recall how the employees at Facebook rose up in concerted outrage over the decision of those in charge to continue allowing political ads? The workers at these platforms work there precisely because of the ideological bent of their bosses. Some of the higher-ups may be concerned that an allowance for Conservative speech in a more open setting would spur on a mass exodus of data workers and IT people in their employ.
How many people do they have to lose to their platforms before they realize that the one saving grace for their companies will be fully espousing freedom of speech and expression in a real and honest way.
However, this may also be an opportunity for the tech companies to reach out to the Conservative and Right-leaning public by offering jobs equally to those who do espouse these opinions. Just imagine how many in the public would suddenly feel inspired to share their personal stories and experiences on social media platforms if they didn’t have to keep glancing over their shoulders each time they posted something that was heretofore considered “ban-able.”
With all the emphasis on growth and maintaining an edge over competitors (which, let’s be honest, there are none, despite what Zuckerberg insists) what better way is there to bring in “new blood” than to welcome Right-wingers to a platform now fully free and open to all opinions?
I don’t believe for a moment that any of this is going to happen, but it does make you wonder about the mindsets of these executives who run these huge tech companies, who literally cannot see the folly of their shadowbanning policies. How many people do they have to lose to their platforms before they realize that the one saving grace for their companies will be fully espousing freedom of speech and expression in a real and honest way.
There isn’t a lot of room to play when the sandbox is only 6’ x 6’ and has 20 kids crawling around. I say to Facebook and Twitter to extend the sandbox to a virtual playing field that is unlimited in nature and then we can have all the kids in the world playing at the same time with enough elbow room to be happy, healthy, and maybe even…more inclusive.