Quote:
Originally Posted by BlackEleven
Lies are only harmful to the stupid. Those who can't think for themselves or allow emotion to trump logic.
If you start limiting the spread of (mis)information, you start to slide down a pretty slippery slope and inevitably valuable and important information will get caught in the same net. You mention the Nazis as examples of people that should be censored, but remember the Nazis achieved the control they did in part through censorship. All information contrary to Nazi views was destroyed and censored. Censorship can be just as dangerous as misinformation.
Society would be much better served by trying to limit the stupid. Education, civil and rational debate, and the free and open exchange of ideas is the best defence we have against them. You think anyone that engaged in any one of those activities in regards to Kirk Cameron would take him seriously?
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I don't think I talked once of censorship. I said I don't know how lies should be contained, but I was just hoping for some acknowledgement that lies are 1. at the least counter-productive and 2. inherently wrong.
The problem isn't with the stupid. Intelligent people use lies to mislead stupid people all the time. Look at republicans. Even intelligent people will allow lies to rule them to go with the flock. Just look at patriotism and religion. So the problem isn't stupid people. Stupid people can't do much because they're stupid. The problem likely has more to do with intelligent people
using stupid people through lies and intelligent people being too cowardly to counter lies when faced with them.