There are plenty of legitimate policy debates in this country. We have major economic issues, educational issues and international issues that need serious attention from lawmakers and advocacy groups.
What we do not need to be doing is debating contraception and women’s right to vote. Those battles were settled generations ago, and anyone trying to drag America backward deserves far less attention than they receive.
Every time a fringe Christian Nationalist activist or attention-seeking political figure floats the idea of banning contraception or repealing the 19th Amendment, the media and social media in particular rushes to amplify it, giving absurd ideas a platform they have not earned.
The overwhelming majority of Americans support access to contraception and believe women have an equal voice in our democracy. Yet social media algorithms and partisan outrage machines reward the loudest extremist nut jobs, making it seem as though these views represent some kind of serious movement. They don’t.
Enough.
It’s time to stop putting microphones in front of people whose only contribution is to inflame division and undermine basic freedoms that Americans have enjoyed for decades. Who cares if these idiots have podcasts? Don’t view them, don’t promote them, even in outrage. Let their numbers and algorithms dwindle to dust.
America moves forward by expanding liberty, not shrinking it. Yet we now find ourselves debating rights that have been settled generations ago. The right to vote should never be negotiable. Access to legal contraception should never be negotiable.
It’s time to stop pretending these fringe arguments deserve equal footing in public discourse. They don’t. Quit giving them oxygen, quit rewarding the outrage and quit acting as though rolling back a century of progress is a serious governing philosophy, because it isn’t.
The media and social media influencers have enormous power to shape what the public sees as normal, acceptable or worthy of debate. With that power comes responsibility. Not every outrageous opinion deserves a national platform simply because it generates clicks or anger.
When fringe voices start talking about banning contraception or stripping women of the right to vote, journalists and influencers should resist the temptation to amplify them for engagement. The vast majority of Americans reject these ideas.
Public discourse should focus on solving real problems, not resurrecting extremist fantasies that belong to another century. Some ideas deserve to be challenged head-on, but they do not deserve to be normalized through constant repetition and sensational coverage.
The goal should not be censorship. People are free to hold and express unpopular opinions. But news organizations and influential voices also have the freedom—and, arguably, the obligation—to exercise editorial judgment about what merits widespread attention. They should elevate conversations that strengthen democracy and improve people’s lives, while refusing to turn every fringe provocation into the next viral controversy.
Some ideas don’t need a bigger stage. These fringe ideas are like cockroaches, and they need to be put back into the caves and basement dirt where they belong.
Cindy Allen 