Alienated America

[Dill]

(03-01-2019, 01:55 PM)fredtoast Wrote: It used to be that people had no choice but to be exposed to different opinions.  Most people watched the same news.  Most people got their social interaction from their surrounding community which included diverse opinions.  

No people watch the news that fits their views.  Their social interaction is with people on the internet who agree with them.

Everyone is dividing up into their own little groups.  There have always been people with different opinions, but now they are faceless strangers instead of the people you know and have dealt with face-to-face in the community.  When you know people from the other side as actual people instead of angry voices on the internet you understand that we all have a lot in common.  It is harder to hate a person with opposing political views when he has helped you fix your car or you have seen him cry over family problems that we all deal with.

Good points there.  People watching the "same news" didn't make the news bias free back in the 50s, 60s and 70s, but at least there was less division about what the facts were. News sources had considerable more authority than they do now.

Watergate and the Vietnam War produced disputed versions of facts, but the dispute was not many sided. It was manageable and people for the most parts still saw evidence as integral to the process of judging.

Now with the multiplication of "authoritative" sources, people can pick their facts. And when facts conflict that proves the other side is biased.

I still haven't given into bothsidesism though. There are still those that reject alternative facts and rigorously vet sources, if people take the trouble to sort that out.