Rex M Rogers - Discerning What Is Best

Discerning What Is Best
With Dr Rex Rogers

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Details: Written by Rex M. Rogers; Published: 09 January 2021

"Twitter Permanently Suspends Donald Trump's Account."

Whatever you think of Trump, this is not the way. I don’t support censorship, which is to say restrictions on freedom of speech, of any kind. (I affirm the well-considered body of law that balances freedom of speech with society's interests in limiting promotion of sex trafficking, pornography and obscenity, or "yelling 'Fire' in a crowded room.")

And, Yes, Big Social Media are private companies, but they now function with enormous monopolistic power as public platforms—evident as Apple steps in to shut down Parler. I favor changing Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act of 1996 that’s protecting them.

What if Social Media begins censoring categories of people or ideas they consider unacceptable? Well, they already have: various conservatives, certain Christian content, medical professionals presenting ideas about lockdown or C-19 that elites don’t like. I have 4 friends whose posts or accounts have been blocked because an anonymous committee didn’t like their ideas. Meanwhile, a list of international and domestic bad actors still have accounts.

Trump had 89 M followers on Twitter. I’ve been saying for 4 years that whoever owns Twitter should thank the Lord every morning for Donald Trump, who put them back on the map. Now it will be interesting to see how many people leave Twitter over this and what happens to the company. Rush Limbaugh just deactivated his Twitter account.

Certainly, putting pressure on private companies is a dilemma. But private companies have been held accountable to society’s civil rights standards in the past. The issue here for Big Tech is monopoly of a public forum. There is no forum if it isn’t free, and Big Tech is not acting simply in fair and equitable interests for all. Actually, they have their own huge biases. So, like railroads, telegraph, and telephone a century ago, like TV in the last 70 years, there needs to be competition and regulation like the FCC.

I generally side with free enterprise and no government regulations. But then again, we engage government to protect competition and just practice, like FDA, FCC. T.R. “busted” the monopolies of his day. I think we’re looking at that with Big Tech, particularly when they wield their power in highly biased ways.

Yes, Trump was shameful. Now he’s beginning to pay the price. I reject what he did and certainly condemn the violent invasion of the Capitol Building, just like I condemned the violent riots of this past summer.

Trump is an easy target right now. People are cheering him getting a comeuppance. My point here is not about or trying to defend President Trump.

A far greater concern is preserving the spirit of the First Amendment in terms of freedom of speech, free access to information, and openness in a democratic society.

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Details: Written by Rex M. Rogers; Published: 09 January 2021

With all the talk about "unprecedented" this and that, I thought of Andrew Jackson's campaigns and his initial victory in 1828 when frontiersmen crashed the 1829 party at the White House, walking around in muddy boots. And remember the viciousness to which Jackson’s wife was subjected, who died days before his inauguration. All this matches anything from 2021.

I don’t say this to trivialize much less excuse the President, rioters, or those now twisting what happened to maximize their political advantage.

I note what King Solomon said, “What has been is what will be, and what has been done is what will be done, and there is nothing new under the sun” (Ecc. 1:9).

Details: Written by Rex M. Rogers; Published: 08 January 2021

I confess that when I think about not traveling and why we are limited or cannot travel re ongoing government-instituted C-19 protocols, I want to grit my teeth and throw things.

But then I’m reminded of when I tried this approach as a kid and Mom – who must have been the model for Mrs. Walton who always quoted Scripture on “The Waltons” – would quote the KJV, “This is the day which the Lord hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it” (Ps. 118:24).

This was Mom's way of saying to an errant son, “Straighten up and fly right.” Who could argue with Mom, much less Scripture?

Mom was right. It's a great perspective verse:

“This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.” (ESV).

Details: Written by Rex M. Rogers; Published: 07 January 2021

Those of us who are religious, which is all of us in some way, and I am Christian, would do well to remember a few principles:

1 - Aligning our religious worldview with a given ideology (Left, Liberal, Conservative, Right), or a given political party, or a given political leader(s) immediately reduces the prophetic power of our faith to critique ideology, party, and politician. Such identification in Christian terms is called idolatry.

2 - Lawlessness or anarchy divides and destroys, and in Christian terms is never biblical.

3 - Politics is not the end-all-be-all of life, even in totalitarian regimes where suffering people resiliently maintain their secret faith. And politics does not dictate a culture's future in a democratic republic; actually, it's the other way around, so it is up to religious people to live out our faith in family and community. Christians and churches should lead the way, knowing "righteousness exalts a nation" and "it is God's will by doing good you should silence the foolish..."

4 - Remember, "Do not put your trust in princes, in human beings, who cannot save."

Details: Written by Rex M. Rogers; Published: 06 January 2021

There was a time, on both sides of the aisle, when being upbeat in politics was considered admirable. VP Hubert H. Humphrey was known as the "Happy Warrior." Pres Ronald Reagan, the "Gipper," was widely recognized for his sunny, forever optimistic persona.

Now, it seems many Dem/Repub pols, activists, journalists, academicians--and beaucoup peeps on (anti)social media--are terminally angry, perpetually offended, lack humility, at times fearful, so convinced their view is correct yours does not deserve hearing, and nasty.

I don't think Humphrey or Reagan were clueless Pollyannas. I think they operated with a different worldview than most of the "elites" we endure today. Maybe I sound like an old guy, but I miss the forward-thinking energy you can hear in--

--FDR re the Depression and later the War, "the only thing we have to fear is fear itself."

--JFK, "We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard."

--MLK Jr, "I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character."

--GHWBush, "I have spoken of a thousand points of light, of all the community organizations that are spread like stars throughout the nation, doing good."

While not every American is Christian, the nation has been thoroughly influenced by Christian thought from before its founding, and optimism is a uniquely Christian attitude. Hope, particularly in the future, must come from faith in the Sovereign God.

Other worldviews do not provide hope, or if they attempt to do so, they don’t know how to deal with the reality of evil. Christianity resolves the question of good and evil and gives people reason for optimism.

Our culture’s pell-mell rush during my lifetime to abandon Christian values in favor of the latest Ism is what’s brought us to this point: elites with no optimism, no real hope.

Only way to get hope and optimism back is to embrace what God told us long ago:

“But those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint” (Isaiah 40:31).