Blog #7

 The Progressive Era, Marketplace of Ideas,

1st Amendment

By: Meagan Flynn

April 19, 2021

Anti-War.com:

My first opinions of the website was it was poorly organized and looked as though they just wanted donations for their cause. It was shown as a dump of links and information that they want the world to be aware of. A quote from the top of website says, 

"It seems like not a day goes by without the US escalating tensions with a major nuclear power, whether it be Russia or China. Antiwar.com is the place to find the news and views on the new Cold Wars. Whether it's US warships sailing through the South China Sea, or the Biden administration slapping sanctions on Russian officials, we cover it all. But we can't do it without you!"

The quote seems sketchy to me. The organization is against the Biden administration and obviously against all war tactics. They seem as though they want to get their opinions and facts out to the world to stop the war at all costs. The writers are not in the main stream news because it is a bias website and looking for donations that we really do not know where it is going towards. They advertise that there is a tax deduction, but I do not believe it. It is not a government official website and has random ads all over. The news does not want to put this out to the public and use sources from here because they contain opinions and not worthy for the media, as there are better sources out there. Also, the media wants overall opinions and not bias anti-war opinions just to convert the public and their opinions. 

According to the First Amendment, this organization of anti-war has the right to put their opinions on the web. However, the public does not have to look at it or read it forcefully. Personally, I would never come across this website if I did not have to. No one wants conflict on or off the web. They can keep their opinions of anti-war on this website for their FA right. 

TheAmericanConservative.com:

My first opinion of the website was that it was more organized and neater than the anti-war website. There were ads, however, but they were more relevant, not clickbait, and typically seen on a free site. The website had organized subheadings with drop-downs to see other options when exploring the site. For example, they had Blogs, About, Categories, Podcasts, Events, Fellowship Program, Videos, and a section about the Writers. Under the categories section, are the sections of different articles they have from what it seems credited writers. At the end of each article, there is a comment section where can be positive and negative because there can be nice opinions from different people and then rude comments that are not necessary. A quote from the About section is, 

"The future of American conservatism is bright—and that future is being defined, defended, and delivered by The American Conservative, an institution devoted to “recapturing the flag of the conservative movement” through quality print and web journalism, conferences and debates, and forming the minds of the next generation of American leaders."

Compared to the anti-war website, there are more rules and 3 beliefs followed on The American Conservative website. Again, according to the FA, they have rights to put this information out to the public online, but I like that there are guidelines and there is more organization. I'm not a political person, so I can see why I have not heard of this website. I can also see why it is not in the mainstream news because the news is not one-sided or biased, unless a specific channel like Fox News. There needs to be variety and not biased comments and articles in the mainstream for anyone to see. This website should be for those with opinions on conservatives and people who want to read about this subject. 

Conclusion:

Overall, there websites are not websites I would choose to visit. They are for those who want to read about their political party opinions. Referring to the progressive era and how the anti-war voices were thrown in jail, times have changed significantly with the FA and being able to voice our opinions. However, people don't want to hear their opinions on the mainstream of news which can relate back to the Progressive era before the First Amendment. Times have changed, but there is still more to come for politics in the future.