A Celebration of What, Exactly?

Hail to the chief, mind you; hail to the thief would be more appropriate. Why on earth should we celebrate a man who plays such a pivotal role in misappropriating the truth? It’s a mystery to me. Yet, thousands cheer each daft, demented, damaging, and poisonous Executive Order – and those tariffs – you know who I mean. Even if I don’t want to say his name.

The Internet: A Curse on Mankind

Anger, bitterness, frustration, and dismay can vent our bodies in many forms, but for me, they tend to escape as a torrent of words. As anyone who’s read my scribblings will know, I genuinely consider the internet a curse on mankind. It’s not exactly the work of the devil, but close enough – certainly the kind of thing he or she might have invented, should they exist.

Regardless, while the World Wide Web may or may not be the hand of Beelzebub, it’s man who weaponised it. But let’s not forget those who facilitated this conflagration. In the orange one’s world, there is always someone to blame. Quite frankly, today, I need someone to blame – and I blame Donald Trump, Elon Musk, and Mark Zuckerberg. Imagine being stuck in a lift with that lot.

The Masters of Misinformation

To bend the words of dear old Winston: never in the field of human conflict have so many been misled by so few. Meet the masters of misinformation – the assassins of truth – and they are on their way up. If I ever found myself in a crowded elevator with those executioners, I’d do much more than break wind.

When Journalism Had Standards

As an old-fashioned, unreconstructed, proud print dinosaur of a journalist, I would say that, wouldn’t I? I’d probably go further and say things were much better in my day – again, no surprise. Mind you, however much of a has-been I might be, have you ever stopped to consider whether I might have a point?

You see, the truth is a fragile construct – far more so than we ever imagined. The mechanisms that grew to protect it evolved organically and slowly. The lamestream media, so quick to be criticised yet so slow to be comprehended, was bound by rules that carried the truth while protecting it. It was a messenger, gatekeeper, and bodyguard – checks and balances rather than just cheques.

The Filter is Gone – And We’re Drowning

Before the web, social media, and our interconnected world, the news agenda was regulated and balanced as finely as a Swiss watch. Lunatics, cranks, and conspiracy theorists were kept in check by not having a place at the table – now they control the seating plan. Newspapers, TV, and radio were like filters in a sewage farm – they kept out the crap. Nowadays, we are drowning in it.

The bullshit lies and snake oil sold by Donny, Mark, and Elon should never have been given a voice – and in the good old days, they wouldn’t have been. We would have chuckled, laughed, and slammed the door in their faces, having seen them for the fools they were. Why, oh why, do we equate wealth with intelligence?

How Did We Let This Happen?

Do we ever stop to think about how they became so rich? Why did we ever allow their voices to be amplified to such an extent that they drown out the voices of reason? Lies, alternative facts, and falsehoods rule – the loudest voice wins. How can it be that simply by sharing a lie loud enough and enough times, it becomes a truth?

Free speech absolutism is just another way of enabling liars. Rules, such as the laws of slander and libel, once stopped mob rule and kept the lunatics from taking over the asylum – too late for that now. I’d pretty much say the lunatics have the keys to the building. Now they’ve changed the locks.

A World Too Distracted to See the Fire Coming

While the world was busy swiping and scrolling into the future, it was so distracted it failed to see the warning signs before it was too late. Yet every forest fire starts with a tiny spark. With ever-decreasing attention spans, most failed to see the sparks, let alone the smouldering embers.

The likes of The Donald and Elon Musk – who get more like demented Bond villains with each passing day – have been fanning those fires into a firestorm. And now Zuckerberg, in a truly terrifying act of FOMO, is pouring oil on the flames.

The Wake, Not the Celebration

As truth gets burnt at the stake, there is an old saying: smile; things can’t get any worse. Today, I tried to smile, and lo and behold, things did indeed get worse.

So bad, in fact, that when history looks back in reflection, we’ll see this firestorm as the line in the sand it was – there will be a time before Trump’s second term and a time after it.

Then again, since history is written by the victors, after today, we might not be able to write what really happened anyway. As the truth is crowded out and reality threatens to implode under the sheer weight of lies, today isn’t a moment for celebration – but it’s a wake.

Hail to the thief, indeed.