Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

Home
Pagan
Banning Trump from Twitter is Dangerous but Necessary

Banning Trump from Twitter is Dangerous but Necessary

Last updated on: January 14, 2021 at 3:00 am by John Beckett

Banning Trump from Twitter is Dangerous but Necessary 2021-01-13T15:20:50-06:00 John Beckett

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

To quote Lindsey Graham – something I never thought I’d do – enough is enough.

In the aftermath of the assault on the U.S. Capitol, Twitter, Facebook, and other social media sites banned Donald Trump from using their services. My responses went quickly from glee to “it took them long enough” to “better late than never.”

Until Trump, U.S. Presidents mostly spoke to the people through the media. They would hold news conferences where they’d make remarks, then reporters would ask questions to follow up on things that were omitted, unclear, or untrue. The whole thing would be presented as a newspaper article or a TV or radio report, where the President’s comments could be placed in context.

Presidents speaking directly to the people goes back to Franklin Roosevelt’s “fireside chats” on the radio – every President occasionally makes addresses. But those were few enough to be occasions for discussion – again, with commentators providing context, and occasionally, rebuttal.

Trump went straight to the people, usually via Twitter. Now, there’s no legal requirement that politicians filter their messages through the media. But the lack of that filter, plus the limitations of 280 characters, meant that Trump’s messages were usually devoid of context.

More importantly, they were often devoid of facts. Long before he was President, Trump was one of the loudest voices in the “birther” movement – the people insisting that Barack Obama was born in Kenya and thus ineligible to be President, something that was demonstrably false. This complete disregard for the truth has continued through two campaigns and his presidency.

Lies and conspiracy theories

There is no constitutional right to spread lies and conspiracy theories.

There is also no constitutional right to incite insurrection. Trump has been crying “election fraud!” since before the election started, despite the fact that there is no evidence of widespread fraud, much less that the election was “rigged.” His own cabinet confirmed that the election was clean – he fired those who told him what he didn’t want to hear.

But that kept his base riled up, and when he encouraged them, thousands showed up at the Capitol to protest the confirmation of Biden’s win. Hundreds forced their way in, disrupting the confirmation process, vandalizing the building, and causing the deaths of at least five people.

If Trump hadn’t been tweeting lies for months, there would have been no insurrection.

Even after responsible people in both parties were encouraging him to denounce the insurrection, he continued to insist the election was “stolen.”

Actions have consequences. Words can be weapons. By all means we must prosecute the people who attacked the Capitol and hand down appropriate jail sentences. But we cannot ignore what got them there.

It is blatantly irresponsible to allow Trump to continue inciting insurrection – which he surely would do, because it’s what he’s always done.

There is no First Amendment right to Twitter

In case anyone is unclear, the First Amendment applies only to government censorship, not to private entities. Or, as others have said, freedom of the press only applies to people who own a printing press. You have no right to have your opinion published by The New York Times, CNN, or Fox News. They choose what they publish, period.

Are social media platforms publishers? Utilities? Something else? There needs to be a public debate on this, but under the current law they are private entities and if you violate their terms of service, it’s perfectly legal for them to kick you off.

Banning Trump is a dangerous precedent

I cheered Trump getting kicked off Twitter. My libertarian and leftist friends were less thrilled.

Some of them believe there should never be any restrictions on speech as a matter of principle, no matter what the consequences. Others are concerned that if they ban Trump today, they could ban someone they like tomorrow (and in some cases, they already have). These are not idle concerns.

I’m part of a minority religion. I occasionally hear Christians calling for me to be censored because I’m “harming the Kingdom of God.” I occasionally hear atheists calling for me to be silenced because I’m “spreading unreason.” Those of us who live and work outside the mainstream (whether spiritual, political, or otherwise) are always in danger of being silenced, or just shouted down. There is a need to protect unpopular speech.

But the answer can’t be “anything goes” for reasons that were made abundantly clear on January 6.

We judge what Trump or anyone else says based on what their words inspire others to do.

Results matter

Our common society puts a lot of emphasis on intent. So does the law: intent makes the difference between murder, manslaughter, and self defense. Some people are arguing that Trump never intended for his supporters to storm the Capitol. That may or may not be true. I tend to agree with the Articles of Impeachment: “He … made statements that, in context, encouraged—and foreseeably resulted in—lawless action at the Capitol.”

Results matter. You may not mean to kill someone when you drive drunk, but if you do it will not be considered an accident and you will be held accountable.

Trump is ultimately responsible for the insurrection. He must be held accountable, and he must be constrained from further incitements to violence.

What is the alternative?

The remedy for bad governance is an election. We had that, Trump lost, and on January 20 – if not before – he will no longer be President. That stops him from continuing his regressive policies and destructive governance.

What is the remedy for his lies and incitement of insurrection, which he has shown will never stop?

This isn’t speech offensive to some that must be tolerated in the name of a free society. This isn’t politically unpopular speech that is constitutionally protected and rightly so. This isn’t even some bizarre religious belief based on a long-outdated cultural norm that is still meaningful to some people.

These are lies and conspiracy theories that incite violence and undermine confidence in the democratic process.

What is the alternative to kicking him off Twitter?

That’s not a rhetorical question. If you have a better alternative, let’s hear it. But “just ignore him” isn’t a viable option, because too many people won’t.

The solution to abuse of power is checks and balances

I understand the reluctance to grant this kind of power to corporations and their leaders. Or rather, to affirm it, since they currently have it. There is always the opportunity for abuse and corruption.

At the same time, making everything the Wild West with no rules and accountability presents opportunities for another kind of abuse – the kind we’re experiencing now.

We need not and should not accept one form of abuse to avoid another form of abuse. We need checks and balances to prevent any abuse.

The law has not caught up to the internet era. My preference is for “Big Tech” to be treated like a utility and heavily regulated. Twitter, Facebook, and other tech companies should have meaningful oversight by people subject to elections.

Where ever the line is, Trump is over it

Like any other public policy, we can and should debate where to draw the lines of acceptable conduct on social media. My preference is for few rules loosely enforced on ideas, clear rules strictly enforced on personal attacks and harassment, and no tolerance on calls for violence – or for spreading known lies.

Maybe you think the rules should be looser. Maybe you think they should be tighter. I’m all for having that debate.

But where ever you draw the line, Trump’s lies, conspiracy theories, and incitement of insurrection are on the wrong side of it.

The only problem I have with Twitter kicking him off is that they took so long to do it.

I’m not going to entertain whataboutism

If you can’t see that people damaging property because they’re mad about the police killing Black people is qualitatively different from people invading the Capitol (some with the intent to take hostages) because their guy lost the election and they believed his lies, I don’t think we have enough common ground to have a conversation.

That said, if you want to make substantive proposals about where “the line” should be drawn that would negatively impact left-wing protesters, go ahead.

If you want to complain about Black Lives Matter and Antifa, do it on your own blog. Comments that whine about “hypocrisy” and that engage in whataboutism will be deleted without warning.

Previous Post

January 12, 2021

Navigating Tower Time – Magic for an Era of Change

Next Post

January 17, 2021 Tower Time: Chaos, Decline, and Opportunity

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Books Community CUUPS Druidry Foundations and Context Gods and Goddesses Magic Myth Nature Ritual Spiritual Practice Theology Travel Uncategorized Videos

Select a Month October 2026 September 2026 August 2026 July 2026 June 2026 May 2026 April 2026 March 2026 February 2026 January 2026 December 2025 November 2025 October 2025 September 2025 August 2025 July 2025 June 2025 May 2025 April 2025 March 2025 February 2025 January 2025 December 2024 November 2024 October 2024 September 2024 August 2024 July 2024 June 2024 May 2024 April 2024 March 2024 February 2024 January 2024 December 2023 November 2023 October 2023 September 2023 August 2023 July 2023 June 2023 May 2023 April 2023 March 2023 February 2023 January 2023 December 2022 November 2022 October 2022 September 2022 August 2022 July 2022 June 2022 May 2022 April 2022 March 2022 February 2022 January 2022 December 2021 November 2021 October 2021 September 2021 August 2021 July 2021 June 2021 May 2021 April 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011 December 2010 November 2010 October 2010 September 2010 August 2010 July 2010 June 2010 May 2010 April 2010 March 2010 February 2010 January 2010 December 2009 November 2009 October 2009 September 2009 August 2009 July 2009 June 2009 May 2009 April 2009 March 2009 February 2009 January 2009 December 2008 November 2008 October 2008 September 2008 August 2008 July 2008 June 2008

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

In Revelation, how many lampstands does John see?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Twelve lampstands Seven golden lampstands Four lampstands Ten lampstands