Quote:Most people are going to see, hear, and believe what the want to see, hear, and believe and not much is going to change that. It doesn't matter the political affiliation, they will not change their minds. Either one of the candidates could cure cancer and the opposing side would find something wrong with it. 

 

You are right about that. 

 

I read an article this morning that had a great line in it.  It said this election proves that the Republicans could have nominated a 32 foot tall pile of steaming medical waste, and still 38 to 40 percent of the country will vote for the Republican.  (I'm sure the same  goes for the Democrats)

 

It's because we've broken ourselves into tribes.  Facts no longer matter.  We take a position that makes us feel good, and then we go looking for reasons that back up that position.   The the BIGGEST problem is, no matter what position you decide to take, there is a plethora of media out there to tell you that you made the right choice. 

 

Go to Foxnews.com, and then go to HuffingtonPost.com, and it's like two different planets.  Fox News is all about how terrible Hillary is.  They quote the Trump campaign incessantly.   Huffington Post is all about how terrible Trump is, and they quote the Clinton campaign incessantly. 

 

The thing that is driving polarization in this country is the proliferation of media that has occurred over the last 20 years, brought on by the communications revolution. 

 

We are all living in our own little safe zones.  Conservatives have Fox News, Breitbart, and Drudge Report.    Liberals have MSNBC and Huffington Post.   We all go to the media that makes us feel good, the one that reinforces our opinions.   Intellectual dissonance is stressful.  We want experts to tell us we are right.

 

This is not going to end well.   The country is being pulled apart, largely by the media.   But it's amazing to me that people can't see this.   Conservatives see the "bias" in the New York Times, but they think Fox News is fair and balanced.  Because Fox News is telling them what they want to hear! 

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