Issue Framing
Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act – Chestertons View
This law is a foundational “fence” of the modern internet. Before we can intelligently discuss tearing it down, we must first understand why it was built.. The “Fence”: What is Section 230? Enacted in 1996, Section 230 is a U.S. law that provides two key protections for “interactive computer services” (like social media platforms, forums, […]
The Department of Education Debate
The Current Situation In March 2025, President Trump signed an executive order calling for the dismantling of the U.S. Department of Education.[¹] The executive order, titled “Improving Education Outcomes by Empowering Parents, States, and Communities,” aims to return educational control to states and local communities.[²] This represents a perfect case study for Chesterton’s Fence because […]
Tools for Thought
The Enemy Within: How Your Brain Betrays Your Best Intentions
In Part 1, we examined how external forces – the Firehose of Falsehood and algorithmic amplification – flood our information environment with noise. But there’s a darker truth: even if we could eliminate every bot, every troll farm, every manipulative algorithm, we would still be vulnerable. The most insidious threat to independent thought isn’t external. […]
A Purple Tinted Lens - EssaysHow I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Dumb
There exists, somewhere in the vast bureaucratic machinery of human civilization, a person whose job it is to ensure that nuclear weapons don’t accidentally get launched. This person, let’s call him Dave, probably has a mortgage; enjoys mediocre coffee; and occasionally forgets where they parked their car. Dave is, in other words, exactly as competent […]