Blog Post #6

 Anti-War

In 1798, President John Adams passed the Alien and Sedition Acts which was the first example of a president using the power of the law to criminalize criticizing the government. Since these acts were passed, there has been a theme of US presidents using the law to make it a crime to criticize the government in order to maintain power and control the mainstream opinion of their term and presidency. 

It should come as no surprise that the government today has a strong filter on what American citizens see when it comes to topics surrounding criticism of the government like anti-war opinions, websites, and other forms of media. This is because the government and presidents are aware that they do not have full trust of every single citizen and some citizens have separate and contradictory opinions. 

It is because of these opinions and lack of trust that the government and presidents are on edge. In order to inspire others and control the media outlook on different policies and beliefs the government and presidents need to control the opinions on them so that it looks like people believe in the decisions they are making. 

What this really proves is that humans are governing humans and everyone has flaws. Of all the common flaws, every human does not like to be talked about negatively so it makes sense why someone in a government position would want to have regulations on criticism of their job. 

Nevertheless, there are still people who are outspoken critics of the government and they have to find creative ways to make themselves heard. Websites like ANTIWAR.COM and The American Conservative are one way these individuals can be heard but the government is going to have filters on the internet so that they do not pop up on the first couple pages when you research related topics. 

Critics can be outspoken over social media and use their first amendment rights to speak in public about their thoughts. They have to be careful if they want to stay out of prison because the power that the government has due to past actions by presidents like the Alien and Sedition Acts of 1798, the government has the power to silence them through different legal actions like the Douglass Mackey case.