Seizing the Means of Communication
In defense of “free speech,” President Trump threatens a historic government assault on the free market of ideas.
“America will never be a socialist country.”
These were the words spoken by President Donald Trump last year in the State of the Union Address. If I could believe that he meant what he said, I would have cheered the longest and the loudest. But Donald Trump doesn’t know what socialism is, any more than he understands what Article 2 does or doesn’t allow him to do, any more than he understands what sets American soldiers apart from 3rd Century Vandal Hordes, any more than he understands that “very good people” don’t flock around Swastikas and burning torches chanting “blood and soil,” any more than…well I think you get the picture.
Because, if Donald Trump did understand what socialism is, he would understand the fundamental desire of hardcore socialists to seize the means of production from the bourgeoisie (a fancy word for those who “unfairly” control the market) and create a government regime that mandates “fairness” as it determines who should get what and in what amount.
Clearly, he doesn’t understand this. Otherwise, he would never say “America will never be a socialist country” only to threaten using the government to essentially seize the means of communication from the mainstream media (a byword for those who “unfairly” control the market) in a desire to create a government regime that mandates “fairness” as it determines who should get to say what and when.
Does that sound socialist? That’s because it is. And while Trump may have no clue what he’s proposing, his supporters and enablers should know exactly what he’s proposing (these are, after all, the same people who successfully thwarted attempts to reinstitute the FCC’s Fairness Doctrine not so long ago).
The free market of ideas exists through an absence of government coercion (you know, freedom), not through an arbitrary determination of what fairness is by a centralized governing authority (aka tyranny). Conservatives and Republicans used to know that.
Conservatives and Republicans used to champion limited government and opposed arbitrarily picking winners and losers. Conservatives and Republicans used to believe in the strength of their arguments and would answer bad speech with good speech instead of crying about how unfair it all is.
Somehow, their support of Donald J. Trump has led them to forget just about everything they used to stand for and has created a willingness to use every ounce of centralized governing power to do whatever’s necessary to “own the libs.”
So much for never being a socialist country.
