patrick.net

do you really want the politician you most despise to one day have the right to “de-internet” you?

do you want trump or kamala or groovy gavin newsom to hold this power? how about dick cheney or justin trudeau or albanese or ursula von der leyen? how about scary poppins or a valerie jarrett appointee?

if even one person on this list upsets you then you have to say no to mandatory digital ID to access social or other media.

if you approve of a power only if your side gets to exercise it, that’s not principle, it’s desire to wield the whip hand.

and that’s dangerous. because even if it’s you right now, once the whip is in play, someone else will grab it away from you at some point.

this whole emotive appeal is the mandate to drive the wedge of “you all have to have digital ID and all legal anonymity online is gone” in.

this is not about kids.

it’s about power and who gets to speak truth to it.

watch what happens in the US. the people who will rise to champion this mandate and demand universal digital ID to access the internet are going to be the same ones who say that “requiring voter ID is racist.”

there is no principle here, no concern.

it’s all special pleading and mendacity.

social media may well be bad for kids, but government control of who gets to do what online is far worse for everyone.

that is NOT the solution.

if this is, indeed, a problem (and it may well be) then the answer lies with parents.

they are the ones who should be making a choice like this and defending/deciding for their kids.

it’s not a power the state should have. it’s also a clear first amendment violation. “shall make no law” is not exactly a gray area.

access to the modern version of the public square is covered by speech just as access to a modern rifle is covered by a right to bear arms.

“permission culture” is not culture, it’s capture; it’s subjugation and suppression.

the instinct to “protect the kids” is strong and those who would manipulate the populace bank on this.

this is why it’s so important to remember to protect our progeny from the predation of politicians most of all.

for those who would trade liberty for safety inevitably wind up with neither.

and that is not a world to bestow upon future generations.