And now Mark Zuckerberg concedes he yielded to the forces of censorship these past eight years and promises to behave better in the future. Hallelujah? Praise the Lord? Too little, too late? Trust, but verify?
Perhaps that last, an echo of Ronald Reagan’s attitude toward the Soviet Union. Zuckerberg was part of a very Soviet approach to dealing with free speech. The behavior of those entrusted with the tools of mass communication and information has been deplorable for at least these past eight years, an insult to the people who crafted the Bill Of Rights and especially the First Amendment. The Orwellian dystopia has come to life as if Nineteen Eight Four was a training manual instead of a chill warning. And now one of its architects cries, “Mea culpa!” as if that will make it all better.
Still, I profess to be a Christian, and so my default position is to forgive my neighbor’s sins, as mine have been forgiven on the cross — indeed, my neighbor’s sins were forgiven in the same place, and who would I be not to forgive him?
Forgive me, though, for refusing to forget, and for keeping a wary eye to make sure this particular neighbor is not doubling down on his awful deception.
