Day: November 21, 2018

I’m not going to talk about the Giants. 

Now that we’ve gotten past that, I do want to talk about what is being touted as the flagship game of the new NFL. This game, Rams v. Chiefs, resulted in 105 total points scored. It was an offensive explosion. Now this isn’t to say that there was not good defense. Donald pulled off two strip sacks. Rams scored multiple defensive touchdowns. There was defense. There was just a lot more and a lot better offense.

NFL Darling, Patrick Mahomes, hoisted 6 TD passes while the Rams’ low key QB (bet you can’t even remember his name) scored 4. 54-51 final score and the sports media was crazy about it. Me, kinda.

Here’s the thing: I love offensive football. As former WR and OC I want points on the board. I love the chess match between OC and DC as we each try to move our pieces towards (and away) from the end zone.  I just like a little more parity. 

So, will the saga continue this football week? Yes.

New Orleans will whip Atlanta badly. I predict 38+ points for NO alone. Likewise I think Cleveland finally puts the hurt on a team in yet another step forward for a Browns team that will be good soon. No more predictions for the week. I’m getting kind of superstitious and I’m not trying to vex anything that could impact my own team.

Some Thoughts:

1. It’s Jared Goff…

We love free speech. We love it unless it is hate speech. Unless it diverges from what we believe. Unless it scares us. Unless it challenges the stock market. We love free speech, so long as we have the right to determine what that is and ultimately who gets to say what and where. The exceptionalism of the U.S. social model argues that we are free and must preserve the right to freedom and embedded in that right is the fact that we are also the arbiters of freedom as the one true and free nation. This matters because we happen to build platforms for communication that are used all over the planet. Those platforms are ultimately governed by our ever-shifting ideas of freedom. As a result, we place expectations and exceptions on these platforms based on what we believe is right, true, and free.

I’m talking about social media here. 

More and more social media is being compromised by a number of voices. Some are trolls. Some are bots designed to push socio-political agendas. Some are sex traffickers looking to peddle product across borders and seas. In a truly free internet should all of these different types be allowed the same access to communication? Is the platform responsible for policing content, or is the platform to be seen as a street in which two or more virtual parties can meet?

Holding to the metaphor, the street can be patrolled by a cop who is responsible for such things. But who is that cop? Should Twitter be responsible for what people post? Should Facebook?

I struggle with the question every day, because I believe that people have a right to think and feel whatever they want. I believe in free speech. I don’t believe that people have the right to impose their views on me, but I do feel they have the right to share any and all views to those who will listen. In the same fashion I believe I have the right to challenge those views in a similar fashion. 

The policing question is difficult and in many ways necessary. I just don’t know how to deal with it.

Some Thoughts:

1. It is not lost on me that my favorite spot to write in the house is also the worst for internet and phone service.