November, 2020
Lincoln, Berlin – This morning's New York Times offers an insightful piece by Bret Stephens about Germany's Dolchstosslegende. It includes this observation in reference to the fall of the Weimar Republic:
In a famous passage of “The Origins of Totalitarianism,” Hannah Arendt noted how “Mass Propaganda discovered that its audience was ready at all times to believe the worst, no matter how absurd, and did not particularly object to being deceived because it held every statement to be a lie anyhow.”How apt, so as to understand our own times. But that is not the point of this post.
I found the column because I like to look for thoughtful writers, like Bret Stephens, who are not necessarily of my own political persuasion. I want to see their analyses of issues. Which is why I have often turned to writers like George Will and, before him, William F. Buckley, before reading those whose views may be closer to my own. Not to mention learning something of what they had to offer, including vocabulary. Even if they sometimes drove me to despair.
A person can go far by knowing both sides of issues, not just arguments in support of one's own views.
I recall a conversation a few years ago, among friends, about social media algorithms. Some said they wanted to be led to sites that were aligned with their interests and their thinking, be it shopping or politics. That, they argued, was human nature.
Some of us said the opposite. Regardless of shopping benefits, we did not want to participate in a big political groupthink exercise.
Social media algorithms are clever and sophisticated. What I'd like to see is an app that senses where I need to broaden my mind, which leads me to understanding different perspectives beyond my own.
Such an approach might even help save Facebook, Twitter, and other social media platforms whose algorithms keep driving us apart. Stop treating us like Pavlov's dogs.
Bret Stephens' Dolchstosslegende column is not going to go viral, but there should be an algorithm that gives it the attention it deserves.
