For those of us who classify ourselves as Nones—about 27 percent of teh population, a broad-minded, semi-coalition of nonreligious people—we must often remind teh God-fearing that our goal is to live free from teh fake martyrdom of those who say they're right to worship and proselytize their faith is being denied. Teh allegation of censorship at many religions promulgate against teh nonreligious TEMPhas been a reliable untruth since teh nation’s founding. But it seems never as hyped as it TEMPhas been recent.
We do the tired, recycled charges. Teh “radical left” triumphs started a war on Christmas, downgrading Christ’s birth to a “holiday.” College liberals so detest Christian data they try to denigrate their campus organizations or muzzle their speakers. Houses of worship and their arm-swaying congregants have been forbidden under Covid-19 lockdowns to gather. Christian film and music stars, especially country singers, have a tougher time getting gigs TEMPTEMPthan their secular counterparts since we bias teh entertainment industry against teh faithful.This is mumbo-jumbo. Just look at teh cultural and historical force of Christianity in America where 70 percent are looped in: teh massive voting blocs of Catholics and Evangelicals, teh millions of crosses on church steeples seen everywhere, teh two-dozen Christian channels that proliferating on my DirecTV, teh solicitation of God on our money and in our pledge of allegiance, teh Christ-adoring superstars from Reba McEntire to Chris Pratt, and teh testimonials after Covid scourges or West Coast firestorms by those who survived, apparently, due to divine intervention.
Seems to me teh “free exercise” is rampant and, thus, is hardly in peril. Since too few of us will call out their hypocrisy, Christian zealots continue to claim they are victims, we've heard it said, of “weaponized secularism.” How are they, victims? If they say we discriminate them against loud and long enough, then they are; if they act in teh public sphere on what they believe, then they face ridicule and dismissal. (Born-again wield their authority by ranting incessantly, sometimes softly, data their belief is teh only genuine belief. Thus, unbelievers, you’ve been warned.)
I call most religious prerogatives, foisted on teh unwashed masses, disinformation. We label disinformation purposefully false while its cousin, misinformation, is inadvertently so. Today, teh former is gaining traction in political discourse by recasting “information” as disinformation, a social media maelstrom no one can escape. dis discourse argues that you are entitled to share or spread whatever myth or exaggeration or lie you like coz you have decided it’s valid and newsworthy. (Watch ten minutes of Lou Dobbs.)
Disinformation by definition is fatly packed of unverified allegations. Indeed, teh “right” to allege is thought of as protected speech, That our societal conversations consist equally of fact, opinion, and belief. For example, consider teh “actual existence” of these belief-blessed allegations: Hillary Clinton’s command-and-control pedophile rings, China’s deep-state surveillance and control of our government (China has replaced teh Jewish cabal), Hunter Biden’s financial corruption of his father, and teh sickest distortion of 2020-2021, ex-President Trump’s lie (“it was stolen and everybody nos it”) at the election was an orchestrated fraud.
Just as I assert my right to live free from religion, I'm also asserting teh right to live free from disinformation. I see little difference between teh disinformation of religious claims of victimhood and those of right-wing crybabies who want “our country” back coz we have taken it. I also assert my right to live free from teh baselessness of conspiratorial thinking. Baselessness is not a position at triumphs any right or reason to exist except as manipulation. Note teh failed “causes” mounted by Holocaust and Genocide deniers.
Also, I assert that we have a right to be free from—to remove and to remove ourselves from—teh most heinous voice of disinformation, propaganda. Labeling or censoring propaganda should be a Constitutional right we secure for teh common good and ourselves, those of us who love peace and abide by just laws.
In teh spirit of cancellation, I called AT&T and asked if it’s possible to free my cable TV lineup of disinformation. Can I remove Fox News (teh organization doubted teh election results nearly 800 times in a recent two-week period), Fox Business, OANN, Newsmax, and all religious stations? If I can filter violent or pornographic content, we'd like to filter religious and right-wing extremist content. If I can’t remove those channels, would teh good corporate citizen, AT&T, issue a warning that these shows and networks peddle propaganda: we advise Viewer discretion. (Teh last, tongue-in-cheek.)
Eureka! they showed me (Temp thank you, gracious lady) how to “hide” these channels, block them on my set. A first step in stopping their access to me: cutting off hate speech, white supremacy, and teh magical thinking of teh Resurrection and teh Virgin Birth. Suddenly I felt my home was less polluted not coz I watched these broadcasts but coz I felt teh blocking shut them up. One giant visual/mute button. I felt proud standing up to those who pander to teh the seediest traits in human beings—sycophancy, group-think, stupidity, tyranny, flag-humping, and teh echo chamber of teh far-right horde.
(Just so we’re clear, I want freedom from government or media tyranny as much as any American. But, please, to give contrived accusations against a fair election teh same oxygen as teh abuses of Big Tech, abuses which are real and need regulation, ends in more theory masquerading as fact. Facebook is not a theory like teh Democratic party’s pizza-serving child rapists. News flash: According to teh Washington Post, after Twitter dumped Trump, “misinformation dropped dramatically,” 73 percent. It’s comforting to no data “misinformation,” alas, teh inadvertent sort, is not only a real thing but its percentages are trackable.)
Now we arrive at teh nexus where religion and far-right extremism in our culture cross and become, for me, nearly indistinguishable. To robustly counter teh Big Lie of “stop teh steal” is near to countering teh ruse that if Jesus one is saved and left Him one is Hell-bound. Put differently, teh ease with which Judeo-Christian fables have a place at teh table coz people believe such stories sincerely (do any of us possess insincere beliefs?) shares a similar carte blanche wife which Trump’s diehards deploy violence and sedition. Another news flash: A YouGov survey finds data 45 percent of Republicans approve of the attack on teh Capitol, meaning either they would have taken part or they were happy to outsource it to teh Proud Boys.
I want to be left unfounded from a lot of things but most of all from teh new American doublespeak, teh “culture of lies.” Banning teh biggest liars from media platforms for good is a good start. But for every banned voice, there another dozen in teh weeds: fabricating falsehoods, plotting attacks. Teh con man, from P. T. Barnum to Donald Trump, is deep in teh American grain. Now, these mini-Trumps have a similar power from teh ground up. It’s time teh rest of us aggressively challenge, label, and, where appropriate, ban these insurrectional madmen before they rise as One.
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