BONUS TOPIC

UPDATE: Sep 3, 2021. The FBI has verified there was scant evidence the January 6th Capitol attack was coordinated, which was the central reason Parler was removed.

I wasn’t sure if I wanted to voice my opinion on the big tech censorship issue, and Parler and President Trump being kicked off the internet. Was this the best content for my podcast? But after my local paper, The Des Moines Register requested my view on this, I agreed. If I truly amplify the best ideas, companies, entrepreneurs, and people, I need to voice why we are at risk of losing the best ideas.

 

 

Quick summary of my view

My full thoughts on this topic were published this morning at The Des Moines Register link below, but here’s a brief overview.

The removal of the President from Twitter and the coordinated removal of Parler from the Apple App Store and Google Play Store, depending on your political view, may seem noble. But these actions set an extremely dangerous precedent in the public square for all views, Democrat and Republican alike. Private censorship of this magnitude sets in motion the creation of two separate internets. There is no scenario where this kind of division ends well.

In the end, when we censor each other and refuse to listen we can no longer learn or grow together. The best ideas and the best solutions come we listen to views we are strongly opposed to. Because we can’t know which ideas are true sometimes, all ideas (as long as they don’t break the law) should be welcome.

Today, I believe we have a major listening, empathy, and trust problem. Views are misrepresented, people are canceled, character is smeared, and people are doxxed all so we don’t have to confront our own fear or misunderstanding. All so we don’t have to acknowledge perhaps we are wrong on something. We’d rather remove someone else than confront a hard truth. It’s sad. It’s unethical, and it’s also un-American.

Please listen to the show, and give me your feedback. In the spirit of transparency, I’ll publish respectful disagreements below.

 

Read the article

The full article on my perspective about conservative censorship is in this week’s Des Moines Register. Click below to read.

 

As big tech teams up with select media counterparts to suppress conservative views, many left-leaning Americans and Democrats have been quick to remind them of their love for the free market — suggesting conservatives should just build their own apps. But the left and the right should agree on this: None of us wants that.

After the removal of Parler from Apple, Google, and Amazon Web Services (AWS), and censoring of the president on Twitter and Facebook, lefties had a clever retort for whiny-righties: If you don’t like it — leave. That’s fair. The idea is this: Conservatives and/or free internet speech lovers should create their own apps, servers, internet service providers (ISP), computer companies, etc. But here’s the problem: They will.

 

Read the full piece »