Voting and Right Wing propaganda
It is likely way too early to give solid information about this, but I wanted to start a conversation on voting. I also wanted to discuss something that one DU member has constantly and consistently discussed. Shout out to Celerity who has kept it in the conversation, and that it Right Wing media and propaganda.
First Voting. Everyone is harping on "Record voting" and "Record Turnout". There were definitely more votes this cycle. Around 71 million on our side and about 66 million for Trump. In 2016 about 54% of the eligible population voted. We may get up into the 60%'s in this cycle. Still, that means 40% of people who are eligible to vote, did not or could not vote. Does anyone else see a problem with that? I remember a few years ago, I think it was for the Macron election in France that there was some reporting in the French media that there was embarrassment about the election in which over 70% of the eligible population voted. Most other countries within our economic cohort have much higher voting percentages than we do. So, what do we do to get more people to participate in the political process? Do we want them to? What would be needed to make it happen?
On the right wing media. There is a lot of hand wringing about messaging, policies, tactics, etc... The usual infighting about who is to blame. We have always had political divisions in the country and we have had close elections and dirty elections. However, what we have not had until the last 30 years is a coordinated conservative propaganda system consisting of radio stations, cable news channels, and internet sites. Until that time our debates were held using the same information generally with each group making the argument as to why that information supported their cause. Now, we have a substantial chunk of the population who NEVER hear factually driven information. There is a not small group of people who actually believe that there is a pedophilic cult run within the Democratic Party.
I don't think that the country will be able to move forward until this false information is eradicated but I am at a complete loss as to how to do that without running afoul of freedom of speech issues. Any ideas?
= new reply since forum marked as read
This is something I've been confused about. I thought that in 1987 when the Fairness Doctrine was eliminated under Reagan was what led to the media outlets being bought by the right-wingers... Having said that, I have a friend who's said it happened as you have said, the 1996 Telecommunications Act under Clinton. Can you give me some clarification? Thank you
I'm going to initially comment on this part of your post- "not a small group of people who actually believe that there is a pedophilic cult run within the Democratic Party" and I'll add that they also truly believe "the Hollywood elite" are involved. I have completely cut myself off from a very good friend because of QAnon. She's never been "political" and thank God she's never voted. However, because dt is the "hero" in the QAnon story, my understanding is that she's behind him. My friend hasn't verbalized this to me but her 40 year old daughter called me in tears last week saying she feels that her mom is now totally in the "QAnon cult" and she thinks she supports dt. My friend's daughter hung up on her mom in middle of a conversation because of the absolutely insane things she was saying.
The logistical IMPOSSIBILITY of what is believed regarding QAnon is such a break from reality that there's no place to go in a conversation with someone who believes in this conspiracy theory. It's like trying to reason with someone who's totally wasted on drugs or alcohol. It simply can't be done. My friend and I used to talk every other day. She moved to AZ from CA last year but we've always talked a lot on the phone because we used to have the same new age/new thought spiritual beliefs. I don't know what she believes anymore
.
I just started the book Authoritarian Nightmare: Donald Trump And His Followers by John Dean and Bob Altemeyer. The main point of the book is understanding the psychological makeup of dt's supporters. So far I haven't gotten to that part yet because the book is laying the foundation of dt's earlier years, and he's even more horrible than I realized. I'm looking forward to getting to the main point of the book. I think having more insight regarding the people who are his supporters will decrease my frustration level.
As far as people who simply don't believe in facts - that speaks to the complete absence of critical thinking skills in a disturbing number of people in this country. I feel for the most part that critical thinking CAN be taught. I posted in another thread that I think we need to add as required subjects Political Science and critical thinking classes in the curriculum in every elementary, middle school, high school, and college in the country.
When the Fairness Doctrine was eliminated in 1987, the coordinated, conservative propaganda system was elevated to a level that has greatly contributed to the situation in which we now find ourselves by way of Fox News, Rush Limbaugh, etc. We MUST make it a priority to start having some control of the narrative and messaging.
Thank you for your awesome post...