Part of the challenge we face as a society is that the hypothetical "war of ideas" picture, in which adults think critically and are swayed by logic, fact, and

Part of the challenge we face as a society is that the hypothetical "war of ideas" picture, in which adults think critically and are swayed by logic, fact, and reasoning, as a function of their experience and values, is not just a fantasy, it's become a weapon used by exactly those who work more successfully to sway opinion and in effect public behavior through mechanisms that entirely bypass or undermine exactly this scenario. The premise that it is the responsibility, indeed the "appropriate" role, of "critically thinking adults" to individually defend themselves in an information sphere almost totally controlled by entities whose resources and expertise in manipulating individuals, is outright dangerous. The entire peril we are in as a society is that weaponized speech is like other weapons of war: something that individuals cannot defend against and are helpless before. QED what we need is a societal response, and society-level defense. That starts with awareness of how f---d we already are.