“I don’t know whether you fully understand that I have just been shot,” Theodore Roosevelt calmly addressed the audience in 1912, pulling a bullet-ridden 50-page speech from his blood soaked pocket. Talk about a paper-thin line between life and death!
In today’s digital age, the internet has become the ultimate weapon of mass communication. It can’t stop a bullet like the printing press could. However, it can give a bullet momentum. The internet is a breeding ground for misinformation and conspiracy theories.
The attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump is a prime example of how social media has transformed our experience and response to such events. In the past, news of an assassination attempt would trickle out through traditional media channels. But today, thanks to the power of electronic media, the world was instantly aware of the shooting at Trump’s rally in Pennsylvania. Within minutes, the incident was trending worldwide, with everyone from POTUS to Elon Musk weighing in, and people from all walks of life were sharing their thoughts, reactions, and prayers. In the digital age, news travels faster than a speeding bullet, and opinions fly at light speed.
“Fortunately I had my manuscript, so you see I was going to make a long speech, and there is a bullet—there is where the bullet went through—and it probably saved me from it going into my heart. The bullet is in me now, so I cannot make a very long speech, but I will try my best.”
-Theodore Roosevelt
