The case for Zelenskyy:
Over the last century, Time magazine would name its Person of the Year each December to great fanfare. It might be the person who had the greatest positive effect on the planet, such as Pope John Paul II, or an impactful villainous individual such as Adolf Hitler, who came to define evil.
In 2022, no one stood above Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Ukraine’s brave president, who refused to step down to the Russian bear.
Zelenskyy exhibited inspiration not seen on the international stage since Winston Churchill rallied Britain and the western world against the Nazi juggernaut. His bravery was best exemplified in his response to President Biden’s offer of safe passage out of Ukraine: “I need ammunition, not a ride,” the charismatic leader was reported to have said. This set the tone for the Ukrainians to stand up and fight. This was not going to be another Afghanistan, where the leader packed his riches into his helicopter and abandoned his countrymen.
It was clear Zelenskyy was willing to fight to the death. And most of us thought by now he would’ve been captured and killed by Putin’s thugs. He and his countrymen were underestimated. He reminded us that success on the battlefield is not only measured by the number of troops and the power of your firearms, but also by the will of the dog in the fight.
Russian troops were sent over the Ukrainian border thinking they’d make quick work of their outnumbered neighbors. They would be coming home soon to victory parades. But they encountered fierce opposition from the Ukrainian army, emboldened by their motivational leader.
In the late 1930s, Winston Churchill stood alone amongst western democracies, standing up to Hitler’s aggression. His words — “We will never surrender” — spurred his countrymen to hold the line and to eventually be joined by an American army that would take down Hitler’s battalions and save democracy.
Few people believed this former comedian, Zelenskyy, had the spine to stand up to former KGB thug Vladimir Putin. Zelenskyy’s army, fueled by his inspiring stand, began to make gains against the Russian onslaught and the disparity of wills existing between the two sides of the battlefield became evident. Morale within the Russian troops has diminished considerably as Zelenskyy’s troops beat back Putin’s offenses. Ukrainians now believe that they can win this war, and it’s all because of their fearless leader Zelenskyy, who is deserving of the designation as Person of the Year.
The case for Musk:
There is another outstanding leader who has to be named as perhaps a co-winner of this award — the world’s richest man, Elon Musk, who has made a valiant effort to facilitate the free flow of ideas on social media.
His purchase of Twitter in order to make it a politically neutral platform could have a more far-reaching effect than even Zelenskyy’s pushback on the Russians.
Social media, such as Facebook and Twitter, and the tech giant Google, have become the new public squares. They are where the public dialogue takes place. In a bygone era, if you couldn’t get your word out in one newspaper, there would be another one that could give you your say. But now we have monopolies controlling the conversation. A handful of individuals with their own ideological proclivities get to determine who gets to speak, and who is canceled.
This is the single biggest threat to our First Amendment rights. And before you go off noting how the First Amendment only deals with government suppression, the government — as in the case of COVID and the 2020 election, utilized social media to suppress various forms of speech it disagreed with.
Both the phone and electric companies provide service to every American. Their executives do not have the right to prevent you from making a telephone call because they disagree with the content of your message. The electric utilities can’t cut off service to Planned Parenthood or a pro-life clinic because they don’t like their politics. The social media monopolies should have to live by the same rules.
Elon Musk understands that.
For some odd reason, many on the left fear Musk’s purchase. We are baffled as to why, other than the fact that they may lose their monopolistic control to shut down conservative speech. But they should remember that, just as leftists have controlled these platforms over the past few years, a monopoly can fall under the spell of conservatives who would turn around and try to quash liberal speech.
Musk seems to be coming from a neutral position to just let all perspectives be heard.
The answer to speech one disagrees with is to have more speech, not less.
If Musk is successful in neutralizing these platforms, he will have had a far greater impact on the world than even his electric vehicles ever could.
To all our readers,
Who is your Person of the Year? We’d like to know. Send us a short blurb or an oped up to 450 words that we can publish.