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If people in the position of power are not made to be accountable, then, ungodliness, injustice and oppression will continue to be the order of the day in the society.
Technology and it's role in our down fall
Technology is great it gives us a world of information at our fingertips but also a world where accountability is lacking. While I support the concept of free speech I also believe the right to free speech comes with the disclaimer that you also must be accountable for what you say.
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The ongoing spread of false information via the internet adds nothing of value to democracy if anything it has the effect of undermining. Opinion is constantly espoused as fact and the real facts quickly get lost in a sea of misinformation
The Media
News sources are always somewhat skewed whether you are a conservative watching Fox or a Liberal reading the Huffington post there is always a degree of bias in the way news and opinion pieces are presented. I'm not saying the idealism has no place but when it starts get misconstrued as hard facts you have an issue no matter what side of the political spectrum you lean to.
In Australia we have a huge problem with Rupert Murdoch owned press ( same guy that runs Fox) presenting skewed version of information and influencing election outcomes that benefit their chosen agenda as well as political policy in general.
We go on about freedom of Speech but never freedom of thought. How free is the speech if it is merely a result of someone else's manipulation.
The answer to this problem is simple, truth in reporting laws are needed in any country that is truely a democracy. Without the correct information how can one ever make an informed voting decision. Churchill once said " the best argument against democracy is a 5 minute conversation with the average voter." On face value a somewhat elites sentiment but also a sad reality we face by people so easily willing to accept without question anything that allign to their bias.
Politics
Here lies the cause of the problem. In a democracy politicians are meant to be the elected voice of the people. Too often politicians manipulate the population to further their own causes. In many countries including my own parliamentary priveledges exist in relation to elected officials, doesn't this concept seem counter intuitive to a free society. If our leaders can say anything without accountability then you are encouraging manipulation not freedom.
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Their aim at the end of the day isn't some goal that benefits all of us it's getting themselves reelected for the next term and in order to do this they will try to appeal to people's ingrained bias. There is no need for long-term innovative ideas when you can manipulate the masses with spin doctoring and propaganda.
Imagine if leaders were actually accountable for their words , their actions and their policies.
The United States Example
Over recent years the US has become a divided nation. This didn't happen overnight or even in the last 4 years. Yes Trump et al. fanned the flames but they have been burning away for many years prior and no one done anything either. Society sadly prefers to wait and be reactive to issues then to be innovative and of course there's the why destroy something that gives you a political advantage factor.
What this lack of accountability has created is distrust in the overall system and a divisive mentality. The events we saw in Washington on the 6th of January was the accumulation of lack of press and political accountability over many years. People followed the narrative of their chosen politicians and media and we ended up with two different versions of events depending on which narrative you follow. I think somewhere along the line modern democracy has has warped the pillars that are meant to keep it in check
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I actually agree with the impeachment of Trump I would argue in fact that even that measure does not go far enough. The lies spun by conservative press, Trump and a number of others in the Republican Party should hardly be without consequence.
I'm not saying no one had the right to question the election outcome, however there is a civil process for doing this through the judicial system not bringing about insurrection in the street. Every election has administrative mismatches and voter fraud they are never significant enough to change the outcome. Blowing these issues out of proportion for personal gain and manipulating the public with lies of injustice is certainly a very low level to stoop to. Despite the judicial system finding only minor issues with elections the narrative from both the media and politicians is still yelling fraud.
The rhetoric has created a scenario where neither side has any trust in any outcome that is not to its benefit. Instead of confronting problems and finding a solution the most common response seems to simply decry well the other side did it too or better still simply to write ideas off due to who came up with them as opposed to assessing the idea on it's value.
Where to now
Democracy will continue on it's current downward spiral while ever we fail to ensure there is accountability in both the legislative and media pillars. The press is meant to keep the government in check not embolden corrupt criminals or be a mouth piece for drumming political opinions down everyone's throat.
We are only free when we have the adequate knowledge to make informed decisions about those who we elect to lead us and there is accountability at every level. Freedom of speech is a much a horror as any joy it can bring while ever the masses are fed propaganda and the facts are obscured.
I certainly can't speak for anyone else but personally I like to base my support for any idea on the facts that support it as opposed to the opinion of others about it.
As we begin to integrate blockchain and smart contracts into our lives, we are soon entering into a phase of transparency, immutable data (preserving facts), and as some have coined it, a "trustless trust". These things will be the new backbone of how we interact with each other.
In a time where anyone's opinion can be broadcasted, it is a great balance to have a system of truth via these uprising technologies.