Thanks for Treating my Blogs with Some Charity
It is hard to be truly nuanced and qualifying in short "thought pieces."
I wrote the other day what I regard as a “centrist” piece about the distortions of current narratives by our media sources. My point was that new technologies of “story telling” have both sharpened the messages and allowed for subtle ways of changing the nature of traditional narratives.
I am not so naive as to believe there is always a balance between partisan distortions. I recognize that there is There is on the Republican right the potential of severe harm. I am not buying all the way into the narratives that warn about the imminent destruction of democracy. I will argue, though, that another Trump presidency would likely cause real harm to many Americans. But even that is debatable. It is a discussion we need to have.
As to the assertion that both Parties have “extreme” wings, I would point to the fact that a slim Democratic majority in Congress in the past were able to work together (center and left) far more successfully than a similar slim Republican majority today. So maybe one “wing” is not as extreme as the other. Or is the difference been between genuine policy differences on the one hand and reckless ambition on the other.
Some historical perspective is necessary. The House of Representatives has been the “peoples house.” Many ordinary Americans have served with distinction. At times of crisis, the House has supported necessary reform. But consider all the people that you know. All the good people. All those that are good citizens, good mothers, fathers, grandparents, coaches, and friends. Many are a bit “flaky” when it comes to issues that are outside their immediate experience. And they may be a bit self- important, a little too sure they are right.
In somewhat more normal times than these such excesses are easily assimilated into a government structure that checks as well as balances. It is right to worry, however, when as I wrote, the media gain market share by showcasing the more extreme voices at the expense of the more sober.
There's money in division, even more money to be made if people are riled up. We are being divided though, not just on social media, but everywhere. Our schools are being wiped out and replaced with private schools (usually religious), homeschools (often organized by a church or religious group), and charter schools to get the kids started. Our news on tv. I've been told some people still watch tv, Yes, social media, internet content personalities giving us news, sites on the internet where we do our own research often following circular links that mostly cite each other. We don't even live in the same communities. The places with more jobs grow and have a set of concerns and there are places left behind in jobs and technology with a different set of concerns. And then there's whatever goes on in gated communities. We even have pulpits that seem to do a lot of politics. Even vaccines are politicized. We hate the stranger in our land as much as we hate ourselves. But we have freedom as long as we conform and stay within the lines like normal people.
I think we could agree on more, but among our divisions are issues that are highly emotionally charged. I'm not talking about things like what my former coworker complained about, like the minimum wage being immoral or how bad taxes are, but things like abortion and guns. Allowing some abortions will never soothe the people who rail against post birth abortions. How do you argue with that? And the whole thing about rigged elections is another case that reminds us that all the evidence in the world can't change the minds of a large number of people. I have friends in Europe who ask me about a number of things in the US, like what is going on with us and guns? It seems to me that a lot of the stuff driving the mania not only won't get resolved, but diverts our attention away from things we can do to make this a better place. Instead, it looks as though we're on an arc of decline. We'll be like Venice where people visit to see it the way it used to be, except we don't build anything worth seeing.