Everyone needs to see this to understand how we got to this point...

[Ashliana]

Yes, I didn't vote for Trump his first term and Biden is an empty suite, I'm a terrible human.

This is why I won't vote Democrat (99.9% of the time.):

Democrats don't believe that the individual is sovereign nor do their policies flow with natural law. In fact, they normally work directly against the grain of those laws. I voted Democrat, blead Democrat, lived Democrat and talked Democrat for 24 years, the moment I stopped living like a Democrat, everything in my life started to improve, I even have days where I smile now.

You're a terrible human being because you've outsourced your thinking, and turned a blind eye to bad acts by the people you support. I sincerely doubt you didn't vote for Trump the first time, but FYI, not having voted for him the first time, and doing so the second time, is probably even worse.

The Democrat party is a lie that should have been abolished along with slavery.

Your "pretend to have been a Democrat" game badly needs work. You've got too many obvious tells.

[Neveragain]

You're a terrible human being because you've outsourced your thinking, and turned a blind eye to bad acts by the people you support. I sincerely doubt you didn't vote for Trump the first time, but FYI, not having voted for him the first time, and doing so the second time, is probably even worse.



Your "pretend to have been a Democrat" game badly needs work. You've got too many obvious tells.

I didn't turn a blind eye to anything.

[Wrathbringer]

Who or what is to blame for the division in our country today? I think it's the result of several factors, with these being a few of the most prominent, in my opinion. In no particular order, they are:

1. The two party system. It's divisive, by nature. Allowing more parties to participate in every aspect of our political system gives more people a voice. This is a good thing. When people feel their views aren't represented politically, we see unrest. The two party system is a false dichotomy. There are more than two sides to any issue. I'm aware of the logistical issues associated with allowing more parties a voice. They're worth the effort to overcome, imo.

2. The rise of social media over the past two decades. Never before have people been able to instantly broadcast their opinions and frustrations, for better or worse. As we all know, people tend to say things on social media that they would never ordinarily say if it was an in-person conversation, and the written word is so very ambiguous as there's no tonal context; it's so easy to misunderstand or take the wrong way, and let's face it: Many of us are not wordsmiths.

3. The internet. We made it easier to spread information almost overnight without educating people on how to be intelligent consumers of that information. The result is the spread of misinformation far outpacing the spread information.

4. The media. Please note that I did not specify the liberal media. There has been more fake news from both sides over the last 20 years than I've ever seen. Why? Because media is a business first. Our media ceases to exist without clicks and views. What gets clicks and views? Sensationalism and partisanship. A sensationalist headline with a grain of truth combined with an editorialized story to achieve a liberal or conservative spin, depending on the majority political affiliation of the outlet's viewership, is what gets clicks and views today, not unbiased reporting.

5. Us as individuals. I've already discussed social media, but this point I'm making is about us, the users of social media. The structure of current social media allows each of us to create an echo chamber for our own ideas by unfriending/not following anyone who disagrees with us. However, if we choose to do this, we're choosing to stop growing intellectually by inhibiting communication and the sharing of ideas and perspectives, leading to all sorts of bias and logical fallacies. When communication ceases, understanding ceases and division occurs.

Many seem to think where we are as a nation happened very recently and can be attributed to a single individual. I wish it were that simple, because if it were, and that person were gone, things would right themselves just as quickly. In my opinion, the past 20 years clearly illustrate that this isn't and won't be the case, unfortunately.

[Wrathbringer]

As for our media becoming the propaganda machines they are today, the internet did that as well, imo. All of a sudden news outlets didn't need a television network or printing press to report. With so many other outlets available, the existing media scrambled to remain afloat as they competed for clicks and views, turning to the strategies I outlined above. You're all welcome.

/thread

[Ashliana]

I didn't turn a blind eye to anything.

You didn't... except for how you already admitted you did in this very thread. Try again.

[Wrathbringer]

You didn't... except for how you already admitted you did in this very thread. Try again.

...I just ended this thread. Now fuck off.

[Ashliana]

...I just ended this thread. Now fuck off.

That might be literally the only substantive post I've ever seen you contribute. And it's even fairly well-reasoned. Perhaps we should celebrate.

[Wrathbringer]

That might be literally the only substantive post I've ever seen you contribute. And it's even fairly well-reasoned. Perhaps we should celebrate.

Thank you.

[Back]

Who or what is to blame for the division in our country today? I think it's the result of several factors, with these being a few of the most prominent, in my opinion. In no particular order, they are:

1. The two party system. It's divisive, by nature. Allowing more parties to participate in every aspect of our political system gives more people a voice. This is a good thing. When people feel their views aren't represented politically, we see unrest. The two party system is a false dichotomy. There are more than two sides to any issue. I'm aware of the logistical issues associated with allowing more parties a voice. They're worth the effort to overcome, imo.

2. The rise of social media over the past two decades. Never before have people been able to instantly broadcast their opinions and frustrations, for better or worse. As we all know, people tend to say things on social media that they would never ordinarily say if it was an in-person conversation, and the written word is so very ambiguous as there's no tonal context; it's so easy to misunderstand or take the wrong way, and let's face it: Many of us are not wordsmiths.

3. The internet. We made it easier to spread information almost overnight without educating people on how to be intelligent consumers of that information. The result is the spread of misinformation far outpacing the spread information.

4. The media. Please note that I did not specify the liberal media. There has been more fake news from both sides over the last 20 years than I've ever seen. Why? Because media is a business first. Our media ceases to exist without clicks and views. What gets clicks and views? Sensationalism and partisanship. A sensationalist headline with a grain of truth combined with an editorialized story to achieve a liberal or conservative spin, depending on the majority political affiliation of the outlet's viewership, is what gets clicks and views today, not unbiased reporting.

5. Us as individuals. I've already discussed social media, but this point I'm making is about us, the users of social media. The structure of current social media allows each of us to create an echo chamber for our own ideas by unfriending/not following anyone who disagrees with us. However, if we choose to do this, we're choosing to stop growing intellectually by inhibiting communication and the sharing of ideas and perspectives, leading to all sorts of bias and logical fallacies. When communication ceases, understanding ceases and division occurs.

Many seem to think where we are as a nation happened very recently and can be attributed to a single individual. I wish it were that simple, because if it were, and that person were gone, things would right themselves just as quickly. In my opinion, the past 20 years clearly illustrate that this isn't and won't be the case, unfortunately.

I don't disgree with any of this.

[Neveragain]

You didn't... except for how you already admitted you did in this very thread. Try again.

I guess if "turning a blind eye" is electing lawyers to handle shit that I, nor you, are qualified to handle....sure?

Considering I'm not a lawyer, nor have the time to sift through this kind of shit, I have to trust the people I and you elected and the people they chose to work for them. These are highly qualified people that concluded there was no collusion.

I would rather dig bellybutton fuzz from my navel, take bong hits and watch you get all pissy about no collusion than read a report that legal geniuses have already sifted through.

You.

Are.

Wrong.