Inspired by "Is Google Making Us Stupid" by Nicholas Carr

“The results of the survey which polled more than 13,000 people in July, show that news outlets make up 12 of the 15 most politically polarizing brands.” Who would have known that the news could be so divisive? MarketWatch reported a poll that shows what divides us Americans and the true enemy that causes political polarization is the media. Many people think the media brings darkness to this country. Well, “Democracy Dies in Darkness.”

We have entered into the darkness and many people don’t realize it. I used to indulge myself with the news but I started to question it suddenly. I had a feeling that someone could be meddling with the narrative, dividing the masses, altering the way we think. We, humans, are designed so carefully that independent and critical thought is a key part of making a human whole. Before, I consumed the news like AI being told what to do. My mind turned into a database of news. I spent a chunk of my life indulging through news stories as if they were junk food. Now my mind has been set free for critical and independent thought just like Jean-Jacques Rousseau. Many people have come to realize that maybe the news is biased but what people don’t realize is that it’s on a larger scale. I now practice fasting on the media with any sort of bias to them

I think I know what’s going on. As long as I have been alive, perhaps, even more, I noticed that the more we rely on one news source, our view of reality has been significantly obscured. Alas, the news allows us to know what goes on around the world. The news once was newspapers, radios, and televisions that described any given event with an incredible amount of description, facts, and the truth. It was a time when there wasn’t an infusion of entertainment with the news. Reading a few pages of the newspaper will keep you informed of domestic and international affairs. In today's world, you can turn on the television or go online and read or listen to what they say without any further thought. We have devolved from critical thought and intellectual debate to intolerance of ideas and unintelligible arguments. (Unlike intellectual arguments in Greece, in our climate, it has been shown that we may not be the best listeners nor debaters in the world.) 

Me and many others, the media has already turned into a large organization of elites that are collaborating to achieve one common goal. That goal is to destabilize and divide us Americans. It is in human nature to use natural instinct in certain situations that may trigger some sort of fight or flight feeling. I have been through situations where I have been targeted for my political beliefs. I’ve been called names like “Right-wing fanatic” or some terrible name that they’ve decided to call me without any evidence nor letting me explain myself. USA Today once quoted on our political culture that, “The parties disagree, and then it often devolves to the “She hit me first- no, you did” banter of a grade school playground.” For once, the media has given a fact regarding what is an effect from the dividing media. The media seems to be the invisible enemy that many don’t realize. Before, I consumed news like a robot being told what to do. Now, I feel like I have been reborn to not necessarily question everything, but to know who’s pulling the string to divide us all. United we stand, divided we fall.