Thomas Jefferson once said, "I never considered a difference of opinion in politics, in religion, in philosophy, as cause for withdrawing from a friend."
Yet, in this volatile world, spurned on by social media forums such as Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, we know far too much about our friends and neighbors. With a click of a mouse, I can see what they ate for dinner, where they went for dinner, what cute sweaters they purchased for their tea-cup doggies, and where they stand of the state of the Union.
In kinder times, we were raised to keep opinions on religion, politics, and sex private. Our two-party system allowed us to go to the polls to vote our conscious, and then unify to support the winner. Democrat or Republican, the masses respected the process and shook hands. They put aside personal convictions and worked together to improve our country.
When did that change? Why did it become acceptable for the supporters of the losing candidate to spend the next four years spreading falsehoods, and hateful posts? What occurred to normalize, digging deep for lies and dragging all of us into the mud? Was it the media?
The practice of Yellow Journalism, a style of newspaper reporting that emphasized sensationalism over facts can be traced back to the late 1800ies, when publishers Joseph Pulitzer and William Randolph Hearst by trying to out-do each other with colorful reporting, sensationalism, and crusades against political corruption. The popularity of tabloids, and shock-jocks, talk shows, namely Jerry Springer, helped to feed a craving for larger-than-life personalities, degenerate behavior and spicy headlines.Then came the internet, followed soon after by social media.
The internet was made available to the public in 1991 and gained traction with AOL and Yahoo. Each had forums, designed to attract subscribers. Moderators purged outlandish comments, but less-mainstream sites were created and, in so doing, the ability to spew hate and lies to a mass audience at no cost was born. Facebook was launched in February 2004 and Twitter appeared in March 2006. No fact-checking and say what you want.
During the eight years that President George H.W. Bush was in office, his opposition was active, yet dignified. The events of 9-11 temporarily unified the country, but the election of President Barack Obama in 2009 was a turning point in this great divide. You can point to racism, religious zealots and political-influencers as the fuel that lit the fire. No topic was off-limits. His heritage, his wife and children, and every effort to bring about change. No reconciliation of parties. No bi-partisan support. Just eight years to nurture the racial tensions of our nations. Like him or not, Obama remained dignified as he ignored the negativity, but then came President Trump.
Donald Trump said whatever came to mind. No leader had ever fanned the fires of political divide like he did, and his followers repeated every comment, for all to see. Four years of attacking the liberal media and those who opposed his platform. The media, in return, was also divided in their coverage of the day’s events, further fueling a dangerous racial divide. Conservative outlets provided a forum for Trump’s policies and a unique twist on the news. Liberal outlets delivered their own biased view of his policies and each spoon-fed fodder for the masses. It continues with no letup today, with Joe Biden in office.
So how does one navigate love and friendship in these times? According to Time magazine, a YouGov/Economist poll showed 45% of the it’s respondents would not date someone from the opposite party themselves—and the vast majority of them (86%) think it has become tougher to date someone on the other side of the political divide.
My question is why? Establishing a healthy relationship is hard enough, so why complicate it with political rhetoric? Please don’t ask me who I voted for, what religious institution I attend or other probing questions regarding my social life, if you think the responses will affect your opinion of me.
Personally, my Facebook and Twitter accounts are politics-free; my religious beliefs are equally absent from my social media accounts, as is my relationship status, but if you want to see a cute picture of my cats, my kids, or a recipe for a healthy pumpkin bread, that’s evident for all to see!
Follow me on Twitter @nymomto3boys
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