Over the past few weeks, I’ve had occasion to watch Robert F. Kennedy Jr. give testimony before Congress.  Most recently, he was trying to explain why a hearing on censorship should not itself be subject to censorship.

That’s worth watching for the content alone. But in addition, it’s been so long since we’ve had a presidential candidate who could accurately be described as ‘presidential’ that it’s good to be reminded of what one looks and sounds like.

Although we disagree on some policies, I think he and I share one of our deepest beliefs:  If we’re ever going to get anywhere worth going, we need to start having better conversations.

Towards that end, I tend to focus on things like making sure we agree on the meanings of the words we’re using, avoiding common logical fallacies, agreeing ahead of time on what kind of discussion (moral or cost-benefit) we’re going to have, and so on.

He tends to focus on things like mutual respect and freedom from censorship.

I want people to stop having the wrong conversations. He wants people to start having the right ones.

But we’re after the same thing—making public discussions more like conversations and less like sporting events.

So, given that he’s currently one of the most censored people in the world, how can we get people to listen to him defend the importance of speech that is both free and collaborative, even on topics that people  are divided on?

A good ad can go a long way towards that.  Do you remember the famous 1984 ad that Apple ran during Super Bowl XVIII?  If you haven’t seen it, take a look now. (It’s hard to believe that it was made 40 years ago.)

What I’m imagining is a variation on this theme.

You start by seeing two groups instead of one, each facing away from the other, listening to two different demagogues rant on two giant screens about how the people facing the other way are ‘the biggest single threat to our way of life’ or something like that.

Both screens are plugged into a single outlet. You see a hand reaching towards the plugs and hear RFK Jr.’s voice saying, ‘This has to stop.’  The hand pulls out both plugs.

Cut back to the original view.  The screens are blank and quiet.  The people are looking around in a daze as if just awakened from a dream.

We hear RFK Jr. ‘s voice saying, ‘We have to start talking to each other as neighbors, treating each other as human beings, respecting each other as fellow Americans. We have to stop reflexively viewing each other as existential threats. We have to start talking to each other instead of about each other.’

And people start crossing the aisle warily at first, but shaking hands, introducing themselves, and easing into civil conversations with each other.

Because his voice is so distinctive, you wouldn’t even have to identify this as an ad for RFK Jr.  I mean, except for all those laws… made by Congress… abridging freedom of speech.

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The recent unfortunate event in New York City, which honored the promoted FDNY members, poses many questions about rights and decisions. As does the outburst by the Gold Star father who shouted down Joe Biden as he delivered the State of the Union address.

Freedom of Speech is paramount to a free society, as is decorum and respect for those around us. It is a balancing act, but Freedom of Speech is protected in the Constitution. I do not think decorum appears in that incredible document. The incidents at the NYFD honor ceremony and the Joe Biden State of the Union may be guilty of lacking decorum, but they should be protected speech.

The incident at the FDNY event would never have happened if anyone else had been at the microphone other than New York Attorney General Letitia James. You have to ask if she was on the program before or after the ruling in the Trump v. NYC fraud case. Either way, she had no connection or place at this ceremony. That is how the firefighters in the audience saw her appearance. As soon as James was introduced, the boos rang down from the rank and file. The boos quickly evolved to calls for Trump. The audience’s actions embarrassed James, and her ego will not allow that insult to her highness to go unchecked. There is an investigation into who was chanting with the threat of disciplinary action for anyone not coming forward to confess. The AG and the Fire Department are using the fact these folks were on the clock and, therefore, guilty of insubordination. That is pretty lame.

The gentleman with the loud voice at the SOTU was Gold Star Father Steve Nikoui, who lost one of his sons during the botched evacuation of Afghanistan in 2021. The heckling was a reference to an attack at the Abbey Gate of Hamid Karzai International Airport in Afghanistan that occurred during the evacuation. Nikoui was further devastated in 2022 when he lost another son to suicide. His son was unable to get over the loss of his brother. Life circumstances do not, and maybe should not, be an excuse for a person’s actions. But under the circumstances, most people feel that Nikoui should be given some leniency, for he has already paid a huge price that will continue for the rest of his life. For nearly two weeks, the charges remained on the books until Tuesday night, when the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia — which is under the direct supervision of Attorney General Merrick Garland, announced the charges against Nikoui had been dropped. This is a decision most people can support.

These are two examples of the existence of a microscope we all live under in this new world order. If what you say merely offends someone or a party, you are guilty, and we will find a charge to fit. Free Speech to Democrats is an inconvenient right that needs to be controlled. That control is in the form of political persecution. Other examples are people praying outside of abortion clinics, conservative speakers on American college campuses, or the practice of avoiding coverage of any Donald Trump speech, calling them all misinformation.

The rules have changed, and we no longer need debate or a vote to make those changes. The Democrats. who used to say they were the Party of the People, are now the Party of power and self-preservation.

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