Censorship, Cancel Culture, and The TattelTale Society: Part II
By
JT
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Part I of Censorship, Cancel Culture, and the Tattletale Society looked at understanding these social phenomenons. In this post, we are seeking to explore the problems caused by censorship, cancel culture, and TattleTale Society is likened to a black hole that draws everything at the event horizon into what seems to be inescapable doom. However, America's founding principles have the power to turn this problem around.
The Problem of Corporate America
Let us begin by pointing out that much of what Corporate America does is not consistent with the Original Intent of the Forefathers. Thomas Jefferson said, "Merchants have no country. The mere spot they stand on does not constitute so strong an attachment as that from which they draw their gains. (Federer, 1996, p 329)." In the book the World is Flat, the author Thomas Friedman concludes that Karl Marx could have predicted the flattening as American corporations outsourced, offshored, streamlined workflows, etc... (Freidman, 2005, pp 233-235). Perhaps Corporate America should be labeled Corporate Socialist instead. The problem stems principally from the way companies have been legally structured which fundamentally changes the philosophy of business and industry. In the past, people worked to support their lifestyle choices. In more contemporary times, the work is attempting to define a person's lifestyle and choices for them. The problem has emerged over time as the philosophy of business has changed.
In the 1886 case of Santa Clara County v. Southern Pacific Railroad Company, the United States Supreme court ruled that a corporation is the same as a living breathing organism. This ruling is the notion of corporate personhood in which an organization legally becomes human-like and is the basis for corporate law in the United States. The emergence of corporate governance fundamentally changes a corporation when commingled personhood.
Corporate governance has companies, a fictitious entity, as a meme for the political aspirations of their corporate boards which are composed mostly of proponents of the Political Left. Under Corporate Governance, the corporation takes on duties and responsibilities that the government would normally perform. If the corporation performs these duties and responsibilities reasonably well then the government will simply monitor as opposed to enforce.
Corporate governance arose out of a power struggle between government and industry during the late 1970s. The US Government was enacting many reforms that were a burden on industry. Industry reacted by applying economic pressure to the elected officials' districts who were in favor of the reforms. Originally, Corporate governance was aligned with the business and markets usually through sustainability initiatives. However, through the decades corporations have moved towards socio-political issues that have a very little-to-no connection to the business. Many companies latched on to the Woke tactics while imposing opinions, views, and beliefs on the labor force denying the labor force any voice in the matter. Court rulings have suspended unalienable rights during the time the employee is at work and in some cases have applied the suspension every day and around the clock. Unalienable rights are not for sale and can never be taken away as they are unalienable.
Remarks by Twitter CEO that Twitter's role is not bound to the First Amendment, Right to Free Speech, need to be held accountable to America's Original Intent. Making a statement of intent then following through with actions is at least in contempt of the American Founding or malicious intent against America. These corporate boards, the people, need to be held accountable to the standard set forth by the American founding when operating in the United States.
Other Examples of Free Speech Problems
The internet is groupthink on a global scale tending to promote a secular humanist narrative. For example, web services such as Wikipedia attempt to discuss a variety of topics and use a moderator to guide the truthfulness and accuracy of the articles. Often these moderators are biased to the Political Left with secular humanist thought. Thus, contributions even when properly attributed, referenced, and have merit are frequently removed when not consistent with the moderator's personal narrative. The moderators, regardless of the platform or venue, tend to lack the authoritative competency to properly assess comments for accuracy and truth disenfranchising the audiences from making those determinations themselves. As a form of censorship, moderators steer the conversation to support their own narratives.
The internet bubble is the notion that people are more interested in what goes on in their front yards than what is going on somewhere else. Thus, news, information, and knowledge are filtered to what is presumed to be in one's interest. This filtering is performed by technocrats who develop algorithms that not only learn one's habits but also act on biased guidance to mask news, information, and knowledge that may create warranted dissent. This is an instrument that limits free speech from reaching intended audiences and attempts to manage audience outrage.
COVID-19 Mandates Infringe on Unalienable Rights
A mandate is an official order to do something that differs from laws. Laws are enacted by a legislative body and are durable. Whereas, mandates originate within the administrative state headed by the executive branch and are not supposed to be durable. Constitutionally, there is a separation of powers under which the legislative body enacts laws and the executive branch asserts the law. The government's authority is vested in the ability to police which is under the executive branch. Through mandates, the executive branch is effectively and errantly creating the force of law usurping the legislative branch and the people's will. This is often done in the sense of urgency to meet some sort of crisis or temporary event. Unfortunately, many mandates persist due to the administrative state's persistence across election cycles. In short, the legislative branch is delegating its duties and responsibilities instituting, even leveraging, the administrative state undermining Constitutional constructs to advance ideas that are unConstitutional, unpopular, and even unsupported by the people. Mandates are imposed upon the people and those imposing the mandates are not accountable to the people. Who are they accountable to, some sort of political faction against America's founding.
The Right to Fair Treatment is the commandment "Thou shalt not to bear false witness" applying to all circumstances including criminal, civil, and even gossip. The duty is to truthfulness and the responsibility is to uphold honesty in all circumstances. Often we hear the call to science as though science is nonbias, objective. Unfortunately, scientists are not objective, holding bias and even extreme prejudice. Often this is observed in an unwillingness to examine work counter to their own work. Nonetheless, many scientists hold political or philosophical postures advancing errant science supportive of their own bias at the expense of truthfulness and honesty. COVID-19 is no different as narratives are being pushed as clear evidence pours out against the narratives. These narratives are advanced often through the cancel-culture, censorship, and tattletale society preventing the Right to Free Speech and equal participation in the public sphere.
The Right to be Secure in One's Person originates from Bible and is a theme throughout many books. Personal security underpins nearly all other unalienable Rights and freedoms too. The American Forefathers wrote this into the Bill of Rights as The Right from Self-Incrimination, The Right to a Secure Home, and many other Rights. In short, people have the Right to make intimate personal decisions without external recourse or interference. Thus, no one can poke, prod, stab, jab, search, induce, or cause injury to another person. This includes mandates to be vaccinated, take a pill, or even wear a mask. People often argue about the collective good of society which is foundational to socialism. The United States was founded upon individualism. If the unalienable rights are exalted then everyone participates in a manner in which their duties and responsibilities protect other people and society as a whole. This approach begins with truthfulness and principle-based character ethics.
Reinforcing The Founding Principles
The Declaration of Independence declares quite eloquently that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights. There is a lot of meaning packed in the founder's statement. First, an unalienable right is one that cannot be taken away, given away, or otherwise removed by any human or human institution as the Creator gave those rights to all humans and only the Creator may affect these rights. Second, among these rights overtly mentioned is liberty or freedom such as the freedom of speech. Other unalienable rights include the Right to Fair Treatment, the Right to Life which is not simply a contrast between life and death but also to live one's life freely.
Americans need to stand up to impositions on these unalienable rights. The American Forefathers created a nation of the people, by the people, and for the people. Infringement upon unalienable human rights cannot be for the people.
Within the American founding is the peaceful ability to assemble and address grievances against the government. Part of the problem is that the government has created an economic situation in which the people's time is consumed with trying to make ends meet. There is no time for the citizens to assemble and address grievances. Another aspect of the challenge is that addressing the issues with the administrative state is senseless as they have no accountability to the people and are adherents to their narrative regardless of people's desires or concerns. They will simply provide demagoguery to any challenge and continue their narrative and activities.
The approach is not to address the symptoms or overt issues but instead to address the principles and lack of constructs that limit the administrative state's power and authority - if America is going to continue with an administrative state. The challenge of the tactics of censorship, cancel culture, and tattletale society can be addressed by re-enforcing founding principles. Making the people reporting and performing these tactics known under the Right to Fair Treatment will stop much of this activity when the accused faces the accusers, reporters, or otherwise subversive actors who are protected by a false Right to Anonymity. Once these actors are known they can be held accountable for their conduct and that should greatly reduce the use of these tactics.
The American Forefathers built the United States on timeless principles that work for everyone but everyone has to strive towards those principles. When individuals, groups, or factions decide to pursue humanist beliefs and principles that are counter to the founding, conflict is unavoidable. Patriots must stand up for America's founding and be prepared for the ensuing conflict.
