#PublicDiscourse

[rodaportal]

🔥 Is Free Speech Under Threat in the UK? 🔥

In our latest video, we dive deep into the ongoing debate over Islamophobia, racism, and free speech in the UK. Are we seeing a double standard in how laws are applied? What does the push for an official definition of Islamophobia mean for our society?

🗣️ Join the conversation and find out where we stand on these critical issues.

👉 Watch now: Islamophobia, Racism, and Free Speech: The Ongoing Battle in the UK - https://youtu.be/gbiHGCZQYfE

[unwritten0]

The Role of the Media in Democracies

In a healthy democracy, the media plays a critical role in informing and empowering citizens. Here's how:

Informing the Public: The media acts as a bridge, bringing news and information from governments, businesses, and communities to the public. This allows citizens to make informed decisions on issues and hold leaders accountable.

Watchdog Function: A free and independent media acts as a watchdog, scrutinizing the actions of those in power. Investigative journalism exposes corruption, inefficiencies, and abuses of power, ensuring transparency and preventing misuse of authority.

Public Discourse and Debate: The media provides a platform for diverse viewpoints and encourages public discourse. This allows for the exchange of ideas, fosters critical thinking, and shapes the public agenda on important issues.

Holding Elections Accountable: By reporting on political campaigns and elections, the media helps ensure fairness and transparency in the democratic process. Scrutiny of candidates' platforms and debates on critical issues allows voters to make informed choices.

Promoting Civic Engagement: The media can empower citizens by informing them about their rights and responsibilities. It can also highlight stories of ordinary people making a difference, inspiring others to get involved in their communities.

However, the media landscape is constantly evolving, and challenges exist. Unequal access to media ownership, the rise of misinformation, and political bias can threaten the media's role in a democracy.

Despite these challenges, a strong and independent media remains a cornerstone of a healthy democracy.

[tmarshconnors]

"I don't get into that second-guessing of myself publicly."

•Stephen Harper, former PM of Canada

Harper served as the 22nd Prime Minister of Canada from 2006 to 2015, representing the Conservative Party. During his time in office, Harper was known for his strong leadership style and conservative policies. His statement reflects his approach to leadership, emphasizing personal conviction and avoiding self-doubt in the public sphere.

[swivaller]

Exposing the Bias: Facebook's Right-Wing Fact-Checkers

[pebblegalaxy]

Navigating the Digital Landscape: The Role of Social Media in Shaping Public Discourse and Democracy

Navigating the Digital Landscape: The Role of Social Media in Shaping Public Discourse and Democracy #SocialMedia #PublicDiscourse #Democracy #DigitalLandscape #Misinformation #DigitalLiteracy #CollectiveAction

The Role of Social Media Platforms in Shaping Public Discourse and Democracy: Navigating the Digital Landscape In the age of information overload and digital connectivity, social media platforms have emerged as powerful tools for shaping public discourse and influencing democratic processes. From Twitter to Facebook, Instagram to YouTube, these platforms serve as virtual town squares where ideas…

[janahjean]

#publicdiscourse #confirmationbias #openmindedness #echochamber

[richardeve]

Coming tomorrow: #seriouswednesday I expose my inadequacy before the world. . . . #politics #socialjustice #publicdiscourse Click the link in the bio for more deeply flawed centrist babbling. https://www.instagram.com/p/CBft3lKjKGE/?igshid=12iqwqq9wvtde

[jmmstudio-blog]

I really like this picture. The tones, how sharp it is, the vibrant but desaturates colors. Law Enforcement is a touchy subject for anywhere on the internet *gasp* What people have different views on Law Enforcement?? No way! Yes it’s true. And I think it’s become increasingly important to engage with those that think differently than you through civil discourse. Believing wholeheartedly in your beliefs and views is fine, condemning others and judging those you don’t know for theirs is not. Just my thoughts, I’d love to know what you think about it too so let me know down below 👇🏼👇🏼 • • • • • • • • • • • • #discussion #publicdiscourse #sandiegolawenforcement #lajollapd #ucsdpd #canonvisuals #canonphotography #canon77d📸 #lightroom #lightroomedits #lightroom_ig #moodygrams #tones #moodyedits #instaucsd (at UC San Diego) https://www.instagram.com/p/B8RfOl1Bc-r/?igshid=1d3atq2o3anlw

[lisangart]

IN THE ART WORLD Never been a big fan of a lot of the bang-you-over-the-head politically motivated art but there’s a lot of politically leaning left art but little to none politically leaning right art in public discourse. Just seems like if you’re gonna have one, why not the other? Or is there a giant subset of people who just aren’t interested in art? Or why alienate a giant group of people, are they not allowed to have opinions? Why the divide? If you’re gonna go down that path isn’t it better to mix it up? Or better even, to just focus on something more abstract, like beauty, form, function, humour even, etc. something more universal that everybody can relate to, so people have a space to mix and get along, learn to agree/disagree in a more civilized manner, separate from the already heavily divided culture that exists already? Seems skewed, just curious 🤔 #artthoughts #artworld #artnstuff #justcurious #publicdiscourse https://www.instagram.com/p/B4JYvpngjnu/?igshid=9g8ujg831dfm

[primitiveprimelab]

Disillumination

Making Sense of Sam Harris

I’ve posted episodes of author, philosopher, neuroscientist Sam Harris’ podcast Making Sense on Primitive Prime! Lab before. Accompanying at least one of those post, were my feelings on some of Harris’ social critiques—Specifically in regards to Black Lives Matter and police violence. Harris is, in my opinion, a great thinker in some areas and problematic in others. The issue is he’s a great orator in either case, Strengthening his arguments in reasoning and analogies that for better or worse polish up a way of looking at a subject through a reduced lens. And while this allows us to understand his argument, in certain cases (especially those that require it most) it leaves little room for nuance.

Youtube Video Essayist, T1J (The 1 Janitor) who himself, also has a complicated engagement to Harris’ work, studies what makes Harris so misrepresented by those who reduce him to a racist bigot, or a rational hero by actual racist bigots. Of course, it is possible to approach Sam Harris from many more lenses than these two but ultimately what T1J gets at, is that Harris himself doesn’t help the matter, as his style of discourse, can lend itself to eloquent vagueness. And it would be one thing if poetic grayness and ambiguity were Harris’ tools of choice but bringing things to light through clear and precise understanding seems to be the crux of Harris’ mission. The video examines then, how Harris manipulates that light.

[thedivergentdreamer]

Civility and Bigotry

There’s a lot of talk about how marginalized people should not have to be nice or calm, and how it’s not our job to educate ignorant people. Here are my thoughts on the matter (and yes, I am a marginalized person -- disabled, LGBT+, low-income, female, and neurodivergent). I wish people could assume best intentions more often. I wish that when someone expresses a sincere desire to support us, to learn and do better, we could say, "I appreciate your intentions, but you seem to have gotten some bad information. Try reading this author, or searching for this hashtag." It's not always that easy, but it often is -- more often than you'd think. It doesn't always have to be exhausting (or exhaustive). Just a small nudge in the right direction can be enough. Because we all have blind spots, things we don't realize we're ignorant about. For example, I'm autistic, and there's a LOT of misinformation about autism out there. Unfortunately, it's the info that dominates the public conversation. It's the "light it up blue" campaign and "autism awareness month" people participate in, thinking they're helping us, when in fact it actually does harm. When I talk to a person about autism, I have a few go-to books, articles, and hashtags to refer them to. If they're truly interested in learning, they will check those things out. I'm not going to bring the items to them on a silver platter. I'm not going to spend all day educating them. I'm just pointing them in the right direction and letting them decide whether they care enough to take the steps to educate themselves. Not all of them do. Some of them are more interested in virtue signalling than in real growth and allyship. But it doesn't cost much time and effort for me to give those tips, and if it means some people DO end up learning and growing, and then going on to educate others... it's worth it to me to have spent those few seconds orienting them toward good info. I understand that some people really are only interested in being a bigot, and those people aren’t worth your time. But I still think we're more effective when we assume best intentions until we know for sure otherwise, and when we don't purposely escalate already-tense interactions. Even if the direct recipient isn't listening right now, you might plant a seed that grows long after you're gone. You can also model positive interactions for others observing the dialogue, or open their eyes to knowledge they didn't know they lacked. I understand being exhausted by this stuff (every April, I have to do a lot of self-care to get through all the anti-autism crap), and I absolutely don't think it's our job to hand-hold ignorant people. However, I'm also pretty tired of people using this stance as an excuse to be an outright a-hole themselves. Just because someone else is being ignorant, doesn't mean it's a good thing for us to be petty and cruel ourselves. Like, why do we have to go from one extreme to another? If you don't have the energy or desire to offer even the smallest tip to such people, that’s fine, but why choose to escalate conflict? Why not just walk away and live your life? One of my favourite quotes these days is: "You don't have to attend every fight you're invited to."