I have spent a great deal of time over the past year almost exclusively watching FOX and Newsmax instead of my customary CNN and MSNBC. This was done to preserve domestic tranquility, and thankfully this strategy is working well. Now that COVID-19 is no longer an existential threat and I have begun to have in-depth discussions about social and political issues with my decidedly progressive friends and family, I realize that my viewpoint on many issues has changed since I decided to change my news media viewing habits.
Whereas before I was inclined to follow the progressive Democrat way of thinking, my views have moderated because of my immersion in the conservative Republican way of thinking. I am by no means a convert, but I have reached a point where I am appreciative of both Democrat and Republican points of view. At the same time, I am equally skeptical of both as well.
This got me to thinking about my experience from the perspective of being more a grand socio-political experiment than a domestic survival strategy. I have come to recognize the excesses of both sides – their hypocrisy, their selective half-truths, and their manipulation.
It is both frustrating and disturbing to realize that very few cable news media types and the politicians and self-proclaimed experts who appear on cable news shows have any interest in being thoughtful and objective. The money and notoriety are in being divisive, extreme, condescending and insulting, so that is what we are given.
However, if you listen long enough, the core beliefs, values, and perspectives of both sides can be deciphered through all the hyper-rhetoric. My experience with FOX and Newsmax has been invaluable for me because it has made me more thoughtful and less judgmental. Of course the news and commentary on FOX and Newsmax is presented in a one-sided manner and is full of statements that strain credulity and reflect the profit-minded pandering to and exploitation of their viewers. The same thing holds true for CNN and MSNBC – they are just the other side of the same coin.
As the saying goes, there are two sides to every argument and then there is the truth. Contrary to what FOX, Newsmax, CNN and MSNBC would like you to believe, the truth is not what they say it is.
Based upon my experience, it is vitally important to break away from whatever way of ideological thinking you find comfort in if you are ever going to see the truth for what it is. My suggestion for the next year is as follows:
- Liberal Democrats and liberal-leaning independents should listen only to FOX and Newsmax.
- Conservative Republicans and conservative-leaning independents should listen only to CNN and MSNBC.
This ideological immersion is more like learning a second language than an intervention. Frustrating and confusing at first, over time things will begin to make more sense. Eventually you will become fluent in the language of the other side.
Once the period of immersion is over, we will inevitably be more thoughtful, less judgmental, and better informed than we were before. By understanding opposing viewpoints, we can engage in discussions in a more civilized manner instead of resorting to angry and all too often threatening, even violent confrontations.
It is possible, though by no means certain, that as we begin to moderate our positions and reject the extremist excesses that currently have undue influence on our society, we will begin to have politicians that moderate their positions as well.
I, along with many liberal-leaning people, would love to have moderate Republican candidates to consider voting for, but most Republican politicians seem compelled to adopt the party line of single-issue obstructionism and punitive anti-labor/anti-poor policies, and what reasonable person can vote for that?
I am sure that many conservative-leaning people would love to have moderate Democratic candidates to consider voting for, but most Democratic politicians seem compelled to adopt the party line of extreme social positions and anti-white/anti-business policies, and what reasonable person can vote for that?
Right now, any time a politician expresses a point of view that does not follow their party line, they are rewarded for their courage and independent thinking by ostracism from their own party. How can there be any hope of reasonable and constructive bipartisan discussion when this is essentially banned by both parties?
We need to figure out a way to change the political dynamic in this country from this lose-lose hyper-partisan mentality that has been shown repeatedly to accomplish nothing, to a dynamic where we all end up benefiting from programs and policies that improve our lives in a tangible manner.
Nothing good is going to happen until we are willing to accept that, contrary to what we might think, the opposing point of view may have a point.