(Also published at The Agonist)
"The United States has two parties now--the Obama Party and the Fox Party. The Obama Party is larger, but it is unfocused and its troops are whiny. The Fox Party, which shows up en masse to harass politicians, is noisy and practiced in the art of simplistic obstruction."
I know, I know.... I did say that I was going to try to be more civil and less partisan, didn't I? Yes, I most certainly did...and I meant it. The inclusion of the graphic on the right side of this column isn't meant to denigrate anyone. It IS, however, an observation on how so many Americans have created "facts" out of beliefs, prejudice, propaganda, and talking points. Wanting something to be a certain way does not ipso facto make it so...unless you happen to occupy the far right side of the ideological/political spectrum.
Lest you think I'm about to launch into yet another rant, put your mind at ease. This is no rant, and, quite frankly, the idea behind this isn't even mine. To give credit where credit is due, it was Rachel Maddow who got me thinking about this. Contained within the video shown below is her analysis of the differences...nay, the gulf...between those who identify as "Republicans" and those who identify as "Democrats". To say that Republicans have an adversarial relationship with facts and truth would be something of an understatement. I'm not saying that because I disagree, but because...well, watch the video. Maddow explains it much more effectively than I could.
The problem isn't so much that Republicans and Democrats think and believe differently. No, the problem is with the information. The polling cited by Maddow shows that viewers of Fox News Channel are far more likely to become convinced of things that simply are not true. Death panels? Government takeover of health care? Obama not a US citizen? None of these things are anything approaching true...and yet there's a segment of the far Right that is ABSOLUTELY CONVINCED that these things are not only true, but harbingers of even more evil and horrible things that will be visited upon us by an America-hating President bent on creating a Islamic Socialist Paradise.
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Democracy can be very messy, occasionally unpleasant, and sometimes downright ugly. In most instances, though, there's at least some semblance of truth and reality at work. These days, though, with a large segment of the electorate getting their news from an outlet specializing in propaganda and manufactured outrage, how can we hope to have anything resembling a reasoned, rational discussion? The answer, of course, is that we cannot...and that makes me fear for the future of this country that I love.
I'm not here to hold forth that those of us on the Left are carrying the torch of truth and justice. Nonetheless, when you look at the lies and propaganda that so many on the far Right have come to accept as Gospel, it's hard not to wonder why so many have forfeited their ability (and willingness) to think critically. Listening to Maddow run through the polling data, I find it very difficult not feel profoundly depressed. So much of of public debate is dominated by propaganda and talking points. Far too much energy is expended on debunking what seems to have been made up out of whole cloth. Far too little is expended on discussing things are they really are...and if we can't honestly and openly discuss the issues we face, what hope do we have of moving forward?
This is why I fear for the future of this country. And given the dumbing down of the general populace, I don't think it's an unfounded fear. Not by a long shot.
