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[jaxexpat]

44. Ah, Mr. Burke to the rescue, with sanity. Ergo, good people must act to thwart the actions of bad people.

Knowledge is the friend of democracy. Knowledge is a good thing. It is the opposite of ignorance. It is the antithesis of misinformation. When democracy is performed with little or no knowledge, the outcome is a matter of chance vis-a-vis good outcome/bad outcome. When elections are performed by misinformed people, the outcome is certain, reflecting the intent of those who disseminate untruth. Democracy fails when performed by people whose choices are made based on misinformation because democracy only works when the electorate is informed.

We delude ourselves when we believe democracy will repair itself when misinformation is the nature of the electorate's common knowledge. If every election is a contest of falsehood versus fact, both sharing equal standing, the best outcome will always run an ever more distant second. The phenomenon will proceed, self-generating, without pause, automatically churning out ever more disappointing results.

The question becomes, when is it no longer democracy? The answer to that lies in the determination of people to demand an end to propaganda. The concept of restoring, revalidating, democracy by, perhaps, extra-normal means is called here by some tantamount to intentional dictatorship. This is a false equivalence and a product of misinformation similar to the common attitudes toward "freedom" of speech. That being, free speech is absolute. Just as it is unlawful for dissemination of some public communication, so must it be lawful to prosecute those who break that law until and if/when the law is changed. The nation needs an intercession. A time-out, if you prefer. The inevitable uncertainty of moments in great flux cannot be allowed to cause doubt of our intention and there is no room for false equivalence in a conversation so serious. It's really about taking back the narrative. Why is that so scary?