TAKE A TRIP TO THE DARK SIDE

"Why?" Jean asked over a glass of fermented grapes, "is there such political divisions in the United States today?" I, over my glass of fermented potatoes, thoughtfully answered, "BTSOOM."

But then I began to think about it....

Over the last few weeks I made contact with a couple of friends I had not been in touch with for many, many years. They were coworkers, school and army buddies and old neighbors. We were very close for a long time, a long time ago. I realized when talking to them that I don't know now, nor did I know then, what their politics were/are. I don't think I'm friends with anybody I've met over maybe the last 10 years that I'm not intimately aware of their politics. What happened?

As much as I write and think about politics, the truth is I know very little about the intricacies and back room dealing of government. I don't really understand government budgeting, the complexity of getting a bill passed, of foreign trade etc. etc. etc. So, to evaluate the issues of the day in my own mind, I fall back on my life experience and my brand of common sense. Then when I hear somebody on the radio or read a newspaper, website, Blog or other forms of social media that match what I believe, they become my "people." If something comes out of Washington DC I don't understand, I go to my people for clarification. A number of years ago I determined Conservative people share my world view.

I have also come to understand over the years that, much to my surprise, not all folks share my views! My guess is they do the same as I do--Liberals go to their people for confirmation of their beliefs.

I am a senior person and get most of my information the old-fashioned way, from radio and TV. I am lucky because the first nine of the top ten political talk show hosts are conservative, so I have choices. The top TV cable news channel, Fox News, is basically conservative oriented. I get my beliefs reinforced daily. A Pew Research study shows that conservatives almost exclusively get their TV news from Fox, whereas Liberals tend to watch a variety of other liberal sources; network news, BBC, NPR, Al Jazeera and MSNBC. We all gravitate toward where we are most comfortable.

Being more comfortable doesn't necessarily make us more intelligently informed. To even recognize there is another side, we will have to suck it up and listen/read opposing views. If you are anything like me, and I know I am, this will not be easy. I try often to listen to Thom Hartmann (the #10 radio host, first Liberal/Socialist). When I listen to Rush, I nod my head in agreement 80% of the time. When I listen to Thom, I shriek at the radio 80% of the time. Let me guess, with Liberals, it's the same percentage, just opposite activities.

Listening to somebody who sees the world, its problem and its solutions, so differently is one of life's more difficult activities. I am a dog lover. I could listen 3 hours a day to a talk show about the positive qualities of dogs. If I blocked my gag reflex, I could maybe get down a 1/2 hour anti-dog show. But how else do I get a more inclusive view of man's best friend? If my love of dogs is costing me friends, I have to ask myself do a want a friend who doesn't like dogs? Does that friend share my basic values, my view as to what makes life fun? Do I want to listen to them or read articles as to why Iguanas are better pets than dogs? Do I think any amount of new information will get me to switch my allegiance from canines to herbivorous lizards? (Notice: the string of animal metaphors.)

And yet we keep trying.......

The Pew Study found that Liberals are more likely to block or unfriend someone on social media as well as end a personal friendship because of a disagreement on politics. (I know that to be personally true.) The study also showed Conservatives are more likely to have a majority of Conservative friends. Neither of these study results help contribute to understanding the other side.

When I was growing up the standard fare on my radio was music. I read the newspaper when I had time and listened to network news on TV. What they told me, I believed. Would Walter Cronkite lie? Then about 30 years ago either more talk appeared on the radio, or I began listening to programs other than music. Much to my surprise there appeared people with opinions. Some I agreed with; others were wrong--I mean different. Since a person can't hold two conflicting beliefs at the same time, I made my choice.

Then media of all types seem to just explode. If a person were at all inquisitive, more than enough two-sided information was available. It was then media bias reared its ugly head. Media business plans were simple, how could they sell the most advertising? Should they promote a Liberal or a Conservative agenda? It began to be more and more difficult to tell a journalist from a commentator, a news show from an opinion show. It became imperative to know the bias of the program we were listening to in order to properly evaluate the content. Also, it is important to know we will not be getting a non-biased view. (It may be true, but non-biased, no) Being biased while telling the "truth" is actually very easy for both sides. If there were an elevator with a capacity of 24 and there are 12 passengers on the elevator, one side will bring in experts to tell us the elevator was half full. The other side will bring in an equally qualified elevator capacity engineer contributor telling their audience, they are looking at a half empty lift. Which side is the carrier of the truth?

It was easier for me and my recently resurrected friends and neighbors because we never had so much input. The government did what the government did, and we accepted it as the way things were. I think it's good so many conflicting "facts" are out there now; it keeps us mentally stimulated, but it demands introspection of us. What do we believe? What kind of country do we wish to live in and to leave to our descendants? What kind of country did our founders wish to leave to us? Which political party is best to make happen what we want to have happen?

The original question was, "Why such political division?" I think it's information. We know too much but understand too little. We have to listen to conflicting views. Most of the time doing that we will only reinforce the beliefs we had going in and the chance of changing our minds is slim. But maybe, just maybe, we will understand.

(Sorry, but I will never understand an iguana.)