They Have a Cave Troll

Battling the Hideous Monsters of American Discourse

By any reasonable account, democracy was never designed for the fainthearted. It’s a form of government that demands an informed populace, a vigilant press, and leaders of some measure (a scant teaspoon, perhaps) of competence. Imperfect as they are, and frustratingly vulnerable to the gusty winds of the cause célèbre, these are institutions we rely upon for our safety, our security, and a general sense of normalcy - a profoundly valuable condition that goes largely unnoticed until it evaporates. Yet, as we survey the current American socio-political landscape, it’s difficult to ignore the irregular palpitations befuddling the rhythms of our nation’s beating heart. The acidic rise of troll culture has become a pain in our collective chest. What was once the preserve of puerile internet forums has insinuated itself into the very blood cells of our public discourse, reducing it to something as appealing as a mud-wrestling championship contested in a septic tank. Whoever wins, we all lose.

Troll culture is not new; it is merely rebranded. Throughout history, we find examples of the jester, the saboteur, and the provocateur. In Shakespeare’s King Lear, the Fool mocks his master with biting truths, always tinged with wisdom and hewing to an over-arching moral framework. Today’s trolls, by contrast, construct no such moral façades. They derive their power from pure nihilism: an unholy cocktail of bad-faith arguments, disinformation, and malice for its own sake. This ethos, once confined to obscure corners of the internet, has infiltrated American politics, where figures of considerable influence deploy the troll’s arsenal not for jest but for destruction.

Consider, if you will, the political rally transformed into a theater of the absurd. The crowd, whipped into a frenzy, revels in the mockery of opponents, the dismissing of facts, calls to violence, and casual cruelty that masquerades as strength. The ringleaders bask in the worship of the audience, bolstered by online message boards and social media influencers who fluff the audience like extras on the set of a pornographic movie. The appeal here is to the lowest common denominator, the worst angels of our nature that thrive on grievance, tribalism, and the spectacle of others’ humiliation. It’s as if the political arena has been reduced to a gladiatorial pit where combatants vie not for virtue, or freedom, but for virality.

The appeal of troll culture lies in its simplicity and emotional immediacy. It requires no intellectual rigor, no engagement with complexity. It thrives on the superficial, the inflammatory, the meme-ready. This is why it appeals to those who are, let us say, intellectually unburdened or - perhaps worse - addicted to the attention it attracts. The lowest common denominator is not interested in reasoned debate; it craves a blood sport. Troll politics provides the perfect outlet, allowing its adherents to project their frustrations outward while avoiding any reflection inward.

History offers sobering lessons about what happens when bad ideas are allowed to fester unchecked. Recall the Weimar Republic, a fragile democracy undone by a lethal combination of economic despair and disinformation. Joseph Goebbels, the Nazi propagandist, would have thrived in the age of Twitter, where lies travel faster than truth and outrage is the currency of the realm. The consequences of that particular descent into barbarism need no elaboration here, save to note that democracy dies not in darkness, but under a barrage of cheap laughs, inflammatory rhetoric, and tawdry spectacle.

And yet, the problem is not merely one of bad actors; it is one of bad systems. The algorithms of social media platforms, which prioritize engagement above all else, have created an ecosystem where trolling is rewarded. Outrage generates clicks, clicks generate revenue, and revenue trumps responsibility. This feedback loop has created a digital agora where the loudest and least scrupulous voices dominate, drowning out those who might actually have something valuable to say.

So, what is to be done? First, we must revive the ancient art of discernment, the wits our ancestors used to determine the risks and rewards of, say, eating a particular mushroom foraged from the forest floor. Casualties are inevitable, but the survivors learn what not to eat. Trolls thrive in the absence of critical thinking, and a citizenry armed with skepticism is their greatest foe. As the Roman poet Juvenal asked, “Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?” — Who will guard the guards themselves? The answer, dear reader, is you. Educate yourself, question authority, and above all, refuse to be seduced by the cheap thrill of the troll’s spectacle.

Second, we must demand more from our leaders and institutions. Troll culture thrives when those in power abdicate their responsibility to elevate discourse. It is incumbent upon politicians, educators, and the media to resist the siren song of sensationalism and instead champion reason, empathy, and truth. We are, to say the least, temporarily embarrassed of that resistance in the hallowed halls of American governance, tainted as they are by the cowardice and avarice of our elected leaders - not to mention the feces of misguided insurrectionists. January 6^th, 2021 was both an indictment of our status-quo politics and a spotlight on the idiocy and incompetence that seeks to replace it. God forbid we are forced to labor under either yoke for much longer.

Finally, let us not forget the power of humor, properly wielded. Trolls weaponize humor to belittle and destroy, but satire remains a potent tool for exposing their absurdities. Let us reclaim the wit of Voltaire, who skewered the powerful not with cruelty, but with incisive intelligence.

In the end, troll culture is parasitic, feeding on the decay of our institutions and the apathy of our citizenry. To combat it, we must cultivate a cultural landscape where bad ideas are starved of oxygen and good ones are given free rein to flourish. It will not be an easy task, but democracy has never been a maintenance-free endeavor. If we fail, we risk becoming a nation of jesters, laughing ourselves into idiotic oblivion. If we succeed, we might just rediscover the nobility of self-governance.

And wouldn’t that be something worth trolling for?