Save the Children

A few years ago, I was interviewed twice on a podcast to discuss my dream research. The interviews went well, and everyone was happy. A little later, I was asked to come back for a third podcast, which I accepted. However, before a date could be set, the host of the show went quiet. It turned out she had figured out I was a Trump supporter. Things were different after that. I was told that after I write another book maybe they’ll consider me as a guest, as if I had approached them.

To be clear, I don’t care one way or another if I am interviewed or not, regardless what the show is. As much as I enjoy Tucker Carlson’s show and the old Johnny Carson version of the Tonight Show, I could have bookings for either cancelled just as I was getting on the plane and it wouldn’t bother me. The reason is that I am happiest at home doing my work, or hiking alone in the woods.

This reminded me of how celebrities seem to think that people actually respect their opinions. I look at most celebrities as sleazy stupid prostitutes who will say or do anything for money and fame. It is as if celebrities think their audience can’t figure out that the type of personality required for certain roles cannot be wise, intelligent, or moral. So, they are surprised that Kamala lost. After all, they told us to vote for her.

A very successful Hollywood writer, Mark, helped me get into the comic book business as an artist. He did this by giving me frequent critiques on my work for about two years. Then, when he felt I was ready, he reccommended me to some editors at Marvel and I started getting work. I have no doubt that Mark is an honest and helpful person, but he is also a liberal. It is difficult to reconcile what I know of him with the political essays he posts on his blog.

Mark really believes that Trump is a bad man, as does the podcast host, who considers herself an authority on brutal dictatorships because she grew up in Venezuela. This reminds me of one of my favorite jokes from the Tintin comic. In it, there are two detectives named Thompson and Thomson. The second Thomson introduces himself as, “Thomson, without a ‘P’, as in Venezuela.” The point is that a reference to Venezuela has no special meaning, however personally relevant it might be. Others from Venezuela love Trump, so one cancels out the other.

What does matter is who President Trump is, what he has said, and what he has done. But which version of these things is right? There is a curtain drawn between supporters and detractors, with totally different pools of information on either side. I believe one side, Mark believes the other. Somehow, that curtain has to come up, the information has to mix, and the truth should rise to the top. This would be an Information War, and that is what we are in the middle of right now.

Casualty one was Alex Jones, who was sued for the preposterous reason that he once said something he believed to be true on the air, that later proved to be false. Some of the people involved said their feelings were hurt, and they were awarded over a billion dollars in damages. The point was to take Jones off the air. Just yesterday, in a rigged auction of Jones’ assets, the satirical website The Onion supposedly bought InfoWars for the purpose of using it for leftist propaganda.

The same thing happened with the DrudgeReport and FoxNews several years ago. At the time, I thought the purpose was to put these popular conservative news sources out of business. It was also to try and convert the conservative audience in the window of time they had before the existing audience realized what happened and fled.

It seems to me that the battle for truth and liberty may have to be fought at the corporate level, as happened with InfoWars, Fox News, the Drudge Report, and most recently (in a rare success), Twitter/X. Instead of invading Nazis armies capturing the territory of Austria, Belgium, Holland, France, and Poland, the new territory is Google, Facebook, TikTok, X, CNN, the Associated Press, and so on. The entire war can be fought right there.

As the Trump administration gets underway, I hope this problem is dealt with, either by defanging the enemy, or taking their territory. From what I’ve seen so far, it looks like they’re going for a combined strategy: eliminate the National Education Association, funding for National Public Radio, eliminate DEI from government and laws, prosecution of companies for violating free speech (Google, Facebook, etc), and so on. So far, I haven’t seen anything about righting past wrongs, but I want to see that too.

Just as the J6ers need to be released immediately, Alex Jones needs to be fully restored financially and in reputation. Righting wrongs such as that are exactly the kind of actions that have strong potential to make leftists think twice. It’s one thing to apologize, it’s another to take an overt action to memorialize it, like giving POW medals to recently released JD prisoners, erecting monuments to Trump, Musk, and Tina Peters, and returning all of Jones’ assets, along with healthy punitive damages.