I came across this recently
"The biggest problem with American politics is viewing people that we disagree with as "the enemy".
manatorn
"I would suggest that the tendency to see those with disagreeing viewpoints as the "enemy" is a symptom of a deeper issue. As information has become, not just more freely available, but a virtual torrent that we cannot hope to fully process, two significant things have happened. The first involves critical thinking - real critical thinking, in which a person examines an issue to make an honest, objective appraisal of its value by identifying, building, and evaluating arguments for and against it. The average person simply doesn't have the time, the patience, or even the developed skillset needed. As the amount of information available has gone up, we ingest that information in smaller and smaller chunks. Books become magazines become articles become soundbites become facebook posts become tweets, and our opinions become based on these blipverts of info that we accept but rarely fact check.

The second is something of an extension of the first. As our attention span has decreased, we've also become relying more and more on pundits to inform our political opinions. The problem with pundits, though, is that they are not there to provide objective fact. Facts are boring. The pundit is there to draw an audience so that advertisements can be played at them. That's all, and if we've learned anything from Howard Stern or Jerry Springer, it's the fact that nothing draws a crowd like outrage. The pundits of today offer a very specific experience - they provide affirmation that the core opinions of their audience are Right and any opposing opinion is Wrong. Not different - different implies that it may have some value - but Wrong. Capital W. Dangerous.

If you spend much time getting familiar with propaganda theory, you learn that one of the fastest ways to build the consensus you want is to create an Enemy who opposes that value and threatens what your audience holds dear. Now, regardless of your political leanings, think about how many times you've heard that the other party is threatening the fabric of society, or that the damage they could do may be irreparable. Create an emotional response. Create an Enemy and your party becomes the Savior. Make even the description of the opposition an epithet. (Bed Wetting) Liberals. (War Mongering) Conservatives. It's no longer a description, it's an insult.

If outrage draws an audience, propaganda keeps it by making sure that any dissenting information is either never received or is immediately discounted. The audience that has no interest or ability to critically think about its information accepts that propaganda much more willingly. The problem with American politics is that critical thinking among its citizens is an endangered skill"
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