Quote:
Originally Posted by Cedwards38
I fear that TOTV is a microcosm of our society. True political discourse, for the purpose of having a better understanding seems to have gone by the wayside in favor or the constant competition of winning the next election. In Congress, and in our society, the sport of politics has overshadowed the desire to understand each other and cooperate for the good of all. Everything the President does is cruelly criticized by the opposition party, and the dedicated wings of the national media. And before this President, the same was done by the other side. It's a sad day for representative government.
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I agree with this. It is my opinion that a lot of the Animosity for the other side (whichever side that may be) is constantly stirred and simmered by adversarial media. Fox News, MSNBC, and the numerous wing nut talking heads get people stirred up, often with slanted or downright disingenuous "news". Say what you will about the network news and traditional print media, they usually try, tried, to report the facts and let the consumer make up their minds (aside from columnists and editorials, which were usually clear in their slant). I find that a lot of folks I know (not necessarily you) choose to pay attention to only the slanted viewpoints that support their position, and thus are never exposed to differing opinions, or even facts that might cause them to rethink their position. Thus they are continually reaffirmed of the "rightness" of their side, and the wrongheaded stupidity of anyone who would dare to differ. One thread I commented on a while back was an assertion by a poster that their side (party) was guided completely by logic while the other side was guided completely by emotion. You can't hope to reach a reasonable basis for discussion of divisive issues holding a rigid point of view such as that. I lean left but am often in agreement with the right, and believe both sides are, for the most part, sincere and righteous in their convictions, but are often manipulated by media and politicians.