Parler was the most popularly downloaded app this weekend. With increased censorship on social media platforms, many Conservatives have flocked to Parler, a microblogging site, similar to Twitter. (By the way, you can find me on Parler @Joshbenner).
There’s nothing wrong with new social networking sites, but it’s interesting to consider the explosive growth of Parler in the fallout of the presidential election and in a time with increased censorship online.
I think about that and I think about other industries (especially in the world of information). Social media sites that used to be free avenues of communication are cracking down on people who don’t agree with their views or face checkers. Trust in mainstream media is at an all time low. We’re seeing other companies that are catering to a Conservative base. There’s Patriot Mobile, who advertises themselves as “America’s only Conservative cell phone company.”
All of these make me wonder if there could be increased political proliferation in the open market. Lots of companies support and pander to a progressive base. Just look at all of the rainbow logos during pride month. Look at the companies
With social media, big tech has all but pushed people to find alternatives in a way that other industries haven’t. If left unchecked, we could be at the beginning of that trend. But as people look to alternative media sources, to alternative social networks, will consumers seek this out in other industries as well?
I don’t have a crystal ball. But I see the incredible political division in our country right now, and think two things: it could. happen. And I sadly think it would only continue to further the political divide in our nation.
I saw the new movie “Gosnell: The Trial of America’s Biggest Serial Killer” about former Philadelphia abortion doctor Kermit Gosnell who was sentenced to three life sentences for delivering live babies and then murdering them.
For starters, I think it’s a movie that a pro-life person (such as myself) will like. And I think pro-choice people will sit this one out. I don’t know if I really see minds getting changed as a result of this movie.
Given Gosnell’s low budget, I thought it was very well done. And while it’ll undoubtedly cater to a largely Christian audience, it’s not a family film (it’s rated PG-13). And the subject matter is difficult as it talks about abortion and Gosnell’s lack of regard for the lives of the babies he murdered.
You have a man arrested for running an abortion clinic despite the fact that he wasn’t board certified, he had staff doing medical procedures who hadn’t been properly trained. He was working in squalid conditions. The end credits show a picture from the initial law enforcement raid with a stray cat inside the clinic. One of the first scenes of the movie features the investigators going through the clinic and finding body parts of babies discarded in various places, such as refrigerators.
The man was a butcher. Late term abortions. Doing procedures in an unsanitary environment. Inducing labor and then murdering babies who were born.
One of the things the movie tries to do is capture the inattention from the media regarding the story at the time. Ironically, that is also true of the movie. It’s not like Gosnell was operating 90 years ago. His clinic was raided in 2011 and he was convicted in 2013.
Writing for the DailyWire, Matt Walsh points out that Rotten Tomatoes has just six reviews of Gosnell. Walsh offers a key reason as to the lack of attention to Gosnell’s story:
Any case of illegal abortion will inevitably lead to difficult questions about legal abortion. After all, what is the substantive difference between killing a baby moments after it leaves the birth canal and killing it moments before? How can an advocate of unrestricted abortion become an opponent of infanticide? Any argument offered to justify late-term abortion must also apply to post-term abortion.
Was he a crusader who was trying to help women in a poor community? That was part of his defense.
Or was he a murderer?
Was what he did technically illegal? Delivering baby and using scissors to snap their necks. Was it technically illegal but not really that different from aborting a baby a few inches further into the birth canal?
Or is it murder?
I believe that answer is clear.
It’s a difficult issue within our larger society. When does one have a right to life? It’s a pretty fundamental question.
I understand that many people are pro-choice but don’t support late term abortion (although it is legal in some states). But I think the distinctions people try to make are arbitrary. That a baby has a right to life once there’s a heartbeat or once the baby is viable and could survive outside the womb.
What is it about those stages that inherently confers a right to life?
From the moment of conception, a baby is distinct from both of the parents and a separate life.
Gosnell did a little over a million dollars in this opening weekend. I would think the audience was overwhelmingly people who are pro-life. As the Los Angles Times movie review said “The film never loses sight of the choir to which it is plainly preaching.”
Will this movie be a turning point in the national conversation on abortion? I doubt it.
But it is a movie that shows these abortions for what they were: murder.
Thanks for reading! I’d love to hear what you think, and don’t forget to subscribe!
Josh Benner is the associate pastor at Cornerstone Evangelical Free Church in Fergus Falls, Minnesota and has a Master of Divinity from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. He enjoys writing about faith and culture. He lives with his wife Kari in Minnesota.
Popular rapper Kanye West was the musical guest last night on the season premier of Saturday Night Live. At the end of the show, he invited the cast back up on stage.
West was wearing the Donald Trump red and white “Make America Great Again” hat. As the show was ending, West gave a political commentary. It’s been removed on Hulu and was cut off on the live broadcast (to be fair, it was the closing credits of the show).
West has publicly supported Trump on multiple occasions. He met with Trump to discuss issues including the murder rate in West’s hometown, Chicago. He has said he loves Trump.
That doesn’t mean he has to love everything Trump does but he is an interesting voice in the political arena. It seems that part of his support from Trump is also disapproval of democrats. West talks about how the show producers bullied him about his MAGA hat.
He turns and thanks the cast (some of whom look very uncomfortable) for giving him this platform.
West talks of how there should be a natural balance to things, yet he suggests 90% of news is liberal, 90% of television is liberal. He talks of how major entertainment hubs like Los Angeles and New York are overwhelmingly liberal, as well as in the music industry. “It’s easy to make it seem like it’s so so so one-sided,” West says. He’s exactly right on that front. So much of what we are experienced to in the media is liberal. In these large media formats, it can be hard to get other voices into the conversation and that isn’t productive.
I’m sure people will mock West, people will (and have) said it’s for publicity. But for almost two years, West has been supportive of Trump. West has caught a lot of flack. The media and entertainment industries he is criticizing will dismiss what he’s saying (while at the same time, proving his point).
Thanks for reading! I’d love to hear what you think, and don’t forget to subscribe!
Josh Benner is the associate pastor at Cornerstone Evangelical Free Church in Fergus Falls, Minnesota and has a Master of Divinity from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. He enjoys writing about faith and culture. He lives with his wife Kari in Minnesota.
With major news stories, does anyone else ever feel like it can be incredibly hard to even know what’s true?
All of the media outlets have agenda, the spin that comes from both parties, facts getting twisted, intellectual dishonesty. I believe that truth is inherently worth knowing and pursuing and I feel like they make it so hard. I’ve read multiple articles on the border situation everyday this week.
It’s complicated. There’s a lot of context to these situations.
But it’s made so much more complicated to understand because of coverage. And I see it with stories all the time.
Every major media outlet does things that undermine their own credibility. Not saying they’re wrong on everything, but they’ve all been guilty of things to where I feel they can’t be trusted on everything. Some of the photos that are being shared aren’t even recent. Most noteworthy among them is the one of the little girl who’s crying. The one Time put on the cover. It’s not even true. She was never even separated from her mother.
There is no media outlet that has the credibility where they deserve to be implicitly trusted based on reputation alone.
You hear different statistics and then conflicting statistics.
There are questions about what did or did not happen during the Obama administration. What Trump can or cannot do in regards to the border.
I also feel like a lot of things hinge on which side of the political aisle someone is on. Some people will just automatically assume it’s bad and wrong if Trump does it (same when Obama was president, same when George W. Bush was president). Others will generally be inclined to agree with the president if he’s in their party. But it’s shortsighted to think one president is always right or always wrong, and I feel like that biases how we interpret events in the world.
It’s so hard for there to be civility in arguments. There’s so much venom and vitriol. So much judgment and condemnation with those who respectfully disagree. So many assumptions we make about people’s character and intelligence based purely on if they agree or disagree with us.
We assume that people who disagree have their heads in the sand.
It’s hard to know what’s true!
For every statement, there is an opposite statement that someone will make where they also have a link to something that agrees with their point.
And it goes round and round.
Josh Benner is the associate pastor at Cornerstone Evangelical Free Church in Fergus Falls, Minnesota and has a Master of Divinity from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. He enjoys writing about faith and culture. He lives with his wife Kari in Minnesota.
Has anyone else noticed that Facebook and Wells Fargo are both essentially running the same commercial.
Both companies have been the subject of recent scandals. Facebook with data collection and publishing algorithms. Wells Fargo was just hit with hundreds of millions of dollars in fines for securities fraud.
Both commercials point to their origin and how the companies changed the world. Then “oops, we messed up.” Followed by, “But we promise we won’t do it again.”
Apologies are easy. It’s also true in life. It’s EASY to simply say “I’m sorry.”
Actually changing is much more difficult.
In life, the sincerity is seen in true repentance and change. With Facebook and Wells Fargo, the standard is the same.
Josh Benner is the associate pastor at Cornerstone Evangelical Free Church in Fergus Falls, Minnesota and has a Master of Divinity from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. He enjoys writing about faith and culture. He lives with his wife Kari in Minnesota.
