Limiting The Perils of Online Political Conversations
I attended the University of Denver in the 80s. I enrolled as a poli-sci undergraduate with the hopes of practicing law. My maternal grandfather was, in contrast, a doorman in New York City and owned a loving home in Sunnyside, Queens, New York. I would eventually be raised in this longtime home before our family moved to Westchester County.
My grandfather wisely invested his valuable doorman tips in a government savings bond to create a college fund for his grandson. It was his expressed desire that I pursue an academic law degree so that one glorious day his lineage would include a successful lawyer. In the 1980s, even at a private school like the University of Denver, the cost of a college education was financially reasonable. During my freshman year I realized, that outside of law and teaching political science, there were few career options for a poli-sci graduate. Despite my growing personal political aspirations, I was unaware a promising career in "political consulting" existed.
The core class requirements for a liberal arts degree and the accompanying professors tore against the moral fiber of my being. With a strong acumen for numbers, I upgraded my academic studies to accounting, graduating with a Business Administration degree, majoring in finance. Notwithstanding that I traversed three various areas of academic study, I nevertheless completed my undergraduate studies in four academic years. With no college fund for a fifth academic year or even an additional quarter, and certainly no granddad funds for grad school, my only option was to overload my fourth-year course load.
I would commence a managerial career at a consumer finance company for six-plus years before transitioning into the mortgage industry. This invaluable experience promptly led to a pivotal role at an investment banking firm where I discovered the world of tech. My tech experience eventually merged my entrepreneurial talents with the glitzy publishing world. Currently, I am assembling a new tech company that comprehensively addresses the financial shortcomings of existing online digital content ecosystems for social influencers and content creators. However, as you can see from published posts, my passionate love for modern history and presidential politics has never departed from me.
I willingly share my brief bio to humanize myself. I can accurately state that I have never met or spoken to 99% of my loyal readers. I recognize angst litters the online world of political discussion. The angst is justified in many cases. I have found establishing clear rules for online political discussion establishes "effective brakes" to halt civilized discussion from invariably going off its rails. I imagine these standard brakes like the emergency brakes strategically deployed in the New York City subway system to stop a runaway train. Subway lights govern the considerable train traffic flow using a similar street traffic system of green and red stoplights. If a train attempts to pass a red light, it will typically trigger the emergency brake system. I strategically deploy a similar emergency brake system on my private social media pages for political discussion. Public discussion is invariably a different ballpark where you may only stick to your value system when replying to antagonistic remarks related to your opinion.
Herein, represent my three official rules which wisely guide me:
1. This is my private page. I set the official rules.
2. Stay on the key topics. I will disregard your comment if you veer off-topic.
3. If you desire to debate an unrelated topic, you may create a separate post. I may or may not engage.
These accurately represent my official rules. They are my rules. There is no debating these official rules.
I naturally find that these rules stop discussions from invariably going over the qualitative edge. I will, occasionally, become lost in the raw emotion of the political debate before I keenly realize we are about to venture over the proverbial edge. At this pivotal point, I return to my initial post or comment. If the venom continues to flow from the other side, I will share these rules.
Innovatively, I deploy these fundamental rules here on Substack. You may respectfully disagree with my remarks. You have a right to state so. However, if you desire to exchange your ideological view, you can pay to play to share it. I purposely lock my official posts to restrict comments from only subscribers. These are serious people, and they rightfully deserve the luxurious comforts of mutual exclusivity. In the nightlife world, VIPs comprise the people behind the red velvet ropes in the VIP room. Paid readers and subscribers are my VIPs and are appropriately entitled to the perks of my debate world. To all my VIPs, I sincerely want to say, Thank You for your generous support.
If you agree with my practical points of view, I earnestly hope you will join my elite group of VIPs. Bidenomics severely impacts everyone, even those of us one would never expect to be naturally affected.