How It Works

How it works.

5,000 people attend a protest. Three of them get into a fight with police. The news broadcasts video of the fight, ignoring the 4,997 citizens who marched peacefully. Video of the fight is shown over and over and over again, because the news is a for-profit business, drama is good for ratings, and ratings generate revenue.

People talk about the fight (by three protesters, not the other 4,997) because drama is exciting, and everyone wants to share the news with their friends. 

“Did you see what happened?” 

“Yes. 4,997 people protested peacefully.”

“No! Not that! The important thing!”

Clips and images of the fight go viral on social media. Opportunistic politicians make speeches about “getting tough” and “restoring order,” even if they have to curtail freedoms in order to do it. They refer to the protesters as “thugs” and “agitators” in order to gather support for a forcible crackdown.

And so your civil rights get thrown into a dumpster because the media and the politicians focused on a small number of people who caused trouble while ignoring the nearly five thousand citizens who were out protesting in a way that our founding fathers encouraged and held in such regard that they encoded protections into the Constitution to ensure that we can do it.

The question is, do you want to defend the Constitution, or do you want to give up all of your rights because a handful of rabble rousers caused some trouble while a whole lot of your fellow citizens were out peacefully participating in Democracy?