Journalistic integrity. Authentic community.
May 1, 2024
11:41 PM
In the year 49 BCE, Senators in Rome were threatening to declare Julius Caesar an enemy of the people.
To answer their allegations, Caesar marched against Rome with a single legion - Legio XIII Gemina - the 13th Twin Legion. Its standard? A golden lion centred within four golden corners.
On January 10th, they reached the banks of the Rubicon - a small, shallow river that marked the northern boundary of Italy.
It was against the law for Caesar to march an army into Italy, so the Rubicon marked the point of no return.
Crossing the Rubicon meant marching against all the established powers of Rome. The decision to cross was not just Caesar’s. Every soldier in the legion had to make a choice, and they all faced the same danger – death by imperial execution. When Caesar crossed, he became an outlaw, and when the 13th followed him, they became outlaws.
When his enemies learned that Caesar was fast marching towards them, they panicked, they quarrelled, and they fled.
Today we cross the Rubicon. For many years many of us have quarreled with the established powers of an increasingly totalitarian state. We have fought back against the media, the political class, the bureaucrats, and all the apparatuses of power they martial to their cause. Recognizing the need for a free press to serve and act as a voice of the people, we advance.
We hope that this struggle will help to advance us towards a reasonable reconciliation of our differences.
In 1859, John Stuart Mill wrote,
“A party of order or stability, and a party of progress or reform, are both necessary elements of a healthy state of political life.”
Our current state is no longer healthy. The polarization within our society is creating chasms of hatred and disharmony. Vitriol has replaced virtue, and too many modern sophists rely solely on slander and smear.
Big Tech Platforms have sowed this discord and division within our communities. They utilize algorithms that reward those who are abusive toward one another. Frequent online engagement correlates with higher levels of social isolation. People need to connect online, and organizations need online infrastructure to promote themselves, but to rely on the same Big Tech platforms that caused our disconnections is to continue the cycle of disengagement and despair.
Our discussions will be tempered by dialectic principles. To expose errors, ideas need to be tested, not censored. Science only rises above superstition because its claims are questioned, tested, and perpetually refined. We must allow ideas and opinions to be challenged by others, and we must never become silent on the things that matter most. Our goal will always be to draw as close to the truth of things as a proper analysis will allow.
The Rubicon Free Press seeks to be a bridge that connects people to others within the communities where they live. However, to make that happen, The Rubicon needs you to bring forth your best. We invite you to share with us the news as it happens in your communities. You, too, can contribute directly to this publication. You can use it to promote your clubs, your schools, your businesses, your places of worship, and other forms of social gatherings.
Become a citizen journalist and help build a free press capable of thriving in our post-modern state. And know that in helping us, we’ll be helping you to reach an audience that’s grown dissatisfied with existing in echo chambers. You, too, are a soldier. You, too, are a legionnaire. We ask that you march with us.
Committed to journalistic integrity, The Rubicon Free Press is an online news magazine and social media user community. Its community members report local news with integrity and authenticity. The Rubicon Free Press adheres to ethical business practices; no special interests will interfere with the story.