A day late on the #Newsletter, sorry folks. Hope you had a great July 4.
Today, we lean on John Stuart Mill and Marshall McLuhan to explore the difference between protecting free speech & protecting the public forums, the "containers" of speech, that make personal liberties possible & defensible.
Brain's still moving at a lower gear setting, but no matter.
On to 🍵, then OnlySky.
Happy hump day, whatever your lumps & bumps!
#Philosophy #BetterWorldsTheory
#Humanism
https://mlclark.substack.com/p/on-mill-mcluhan-and-social-media
@MLClark hmmm. Lot to chew on, thanks.
Is ephemerality of social media content another consideration?
The saying "the Internet never forgets" isn't very apt* and I think attention spans are shorter. Hence maybe unconsciously (being generous) some folks feel empowered to say *whatever* and expect no lasting consequences.
*The Internet is not equipped for preservation in any real sense. No one could afford it. Will this post be available in 100 years? In 10? McCluhan's book will be.
Ephemerality vs. Posterity is interesting. Plenty of books are lost to time. Plenty of news broadcasts, radio shows, newspapers, & TV programs were simply discarded or taped over by their creators as a matter of course.
So I wouldn't say the internet is at all new in its fleeting nature - except that it makes pulling up records of speech *much* easier in the short term.
Free speech is generally considered in its moment, but the longterm implications of that quick recall matter too.