In light of recent revelations by whistleblower Frances Haugen there is no doubt that Facebook as well as other social media outlets need to be regulated.

This is especially important when it comes to teenagers who are susceptible to any kind of information. Nonetheless, while teenagers are susceptible to many things, by and large they are not a threat to the democratic foundation of this nation. There is a group however, that is highly susceptible to disinformation and pose a threat to democracy. They are the GOP Trump cult.

Whether requiring additional changes in their algorithms or updating section 230, the reality is that very little if anything will be done by a congress that is overwhelmingly old and uninformed about how social media works.

Despite the need for regulation of social platforms, Facebook has become an easy target that can be attacked by both sides without public blowback.

Nonetheless, the connection that has been touted between Facebook and the January 6th, Trump insurrection is an overreach.

There is no doubt that extreme right wing organizations whether QAnon or so-called militia groups such as the Proud Boys used social media platforms to promote their propaganda and to turnout people to the Trump insurrection riot of January 6th.

However, it must not be forgotten that the 1963 March on Washington drew 250,000 people, 1969 Moratorium on Vietnam drew an estimated 500,000 people, Louis Farrakhan Million Man March in 1995 and  30,000 KKK members marched down Pennsylvania Avenue in 1925. All of these occurred without social media.

Facebook and other platforms have certainly made it easier for right wing lunatics to radicalize and mobilize people but it should not be forgotten that most media groups from MSNBC, FOX News to CNN provided Donald Trump with an estimated two billion dollars of free advertising during his first presidential campaign. They gave the then candidate and now disgraced ex-president a bullhorn with full knowledge of who and what he is. In other words as major networks have jumped on the bandwagon in attacking Facebook as a causation of the Trump insurrection they should look in the mirror. If Mark Zuckerburg is to be deposed maybe Wolf Blizter should be interviewed as well. 

While social media has certainly made it easier to organize and disseminate disinformation from the big lie that the election was stolen to covid vaccine lies, Facebook has become an easy scapegoat while the problem is that a large segment of America has become a cult like those who followed Jim Jones.

Facebook is not causing GOP officials to genuflect to a failed narcissistic businessman.

Facebook did not make the 88 year old Senator Chuck Grassley demean himself by accepting the endorsement of Trump because he is more concerned with being buried with senatorial honors than living with dignity.

Facebook did not make a Steve Scalise during an interview on FOX News refuse to answer whether the election was stolen.

Facebook is not making Kristen Sinema act like an obtuse drama queen.

Facebook didn’t make Eric Clapton or Elvis Costello the racist buffoons they are.

Facebook did not make the certifiably insane Allen West refuse to take the Covid vaccine but be willing to take a drug meant for horses.

The idea that Facebook bears responsibility for the dissemination of hate speech may be true to the extent that they provide a platform for it. It is good to hold Facebook accountable but don’t confuse it with the real problem facing the nation.

While a reform of social media is warranted it will not decrease the ignorance and stupidity that is exhibited on a daily basis sometimes by otherwise formally educated people especially from the GOP political class. The reality is that a significant segment of Americans are intellectually lazy and susceptible to disinformation. If Facebook wasn’t around this segment of the population would still be subject to disinformation through other sources.

Too often there is an attempt to find an anthropological reason for the behaviors of right wing adherents such as CNN’s Van Jones attempted to do after the 2016 election. This is then followed by an attempt to reason with them. While there should always be room for earnest dialogue and perhaps transformation trying to convince them is quite frankly useless. As Maya Angelou said “when someone shows you who they are believe them the first time.” They have told you by their actions who and what they are. Believe them. If Jesus himself came down on January 6th and told Trump voters that Biden won the election they would have made gallows for Jesus and Pence.

The question is not simply regulating social media but limiting it’s deleterious effects on the nation.

America has not reconciled with its past of hate and oppression. It still views itself as a benevolent nation despite its history of the trail of tears, slavery, voter suppression, use of nuclear weapons. America looks in the mirror and has been convinced to see a flawless city on the hill. A significant segment of this population looks in the mirror and believes that America has been deemed by God to be only for white people. 

Unfortunately, the Trump cult has metastasized from the January 6th insurrection to violent threats on school board members because of critical race theory, COVID deniers and other gripes that the predominantly white right wing lunatic fringe seems to have and has gained support from the Heritage Foundation.

The issue at hand is power. It is a sad commentary but the reality is that Americans who have not fallen into the cult trap must fight on an electoral level as they never had before. The strategy cannot be to simply stem the tide of disinformation but to deny this segment the power they seek by denying them an electoral voice for their insanity. While the nation thrives on a two party system, at present one party has gone AWOL when it comes to protecting the nation and its democratic foundation. At this time in history it is the Democratic party that must be kept in power. When voters go to the polls they must vote for Democrats at every level. From school boards, local sheriffs, judges, council members to congress and every position in between. Republicans must feel the wrath of an electorate that will fight for the democratic republic even as the GOP tries to destroy it. 

Facebook has great problems but America needs to face the fact that it cannot find the source of its problems in a social media platform. Nor will the solution be in regulation of those platforms. It is in recognizing the old maxim by Pogo “we have met the enemy and he is us.” The enemy is threefold. First is the group who will cling to their cult like affinity to the Trump GOP. Second is the segment that will ignore or rationalize the behavior of the extreme right. Third are those will not expend the minimum energy to save the republic by voting. In the Christmas hymn “Old little town of Bethlehem” it says “the hopes and fears of all the years are met  in thee tonight” The hope is that America will survive rancid right wing extremism. The fear is that the nation’s democratic principles will be insufficient to save the nation. America will find if it really values democracy. If it lets the GOP win in 2022 and 2024, it will have made the decision that America is not worth saving.