ReUnited Americans
Our leaders have failed us.
Our news is no longer trustworthy.
Where do we turn when "what is going on" is dependent on a preferred narrative? What can we do when they won't change for the better because there is profit in our discourse? When foreign entities use those systems to amplify that discourse and push us closer to civil war? When both sides want us to separate ourselves from anyone not like-minded? When those we chose to lead would rather use us as pawns they can control?
We resist.
We either avoid the media on both sides, or watch both sides with the knowledge you're looking through a lens. Fox will show only Red, CNN only the Blue.
But truth isn't colored, it's a prism. It's us that are asking for the filters. So it's up to us to revoke that request, and realize the truth of any matter involves the other side equally, and real unbiased talks must exist. Sometimes the Right will be right, sometimes the Left will be right, and what's right for our country is to allow that shift on a case-by-case basis, and not blindly & every 4-8 years.
Which side is this for?
All sides. Our politics should be a diverse spectrum, not two people standing on opposite sides of a mountain unable to see anything on the other side. There's a reason that America's colors are "red, white, AND blue" and not "red, white, OR blue." United we stand, divided we fall. We must take a stand now.
Our country's first president had some sage advice that we've since forgotten, and those in power are counting on us not to remember:
"However [political parties] may now and then answer popular ends, they are likely in the course of time and things, to become potent engines, by which cunning, ambitious, and unprincipled men will be enabled to subvert the power of the people and to usurp for themselves the reins of government, destroying afterwards the very engines which have lifted them to unjust dominion. "
George Washington's Farewell Address | Saturday, September 17, 1796
If you've realized you're being manipulated, and so is the other side just as equally, to you we say:
Welcome home and pass this on.
Keep your messaging on social media comments calm, encouraging unity, and any time a troll triggers you, remember they're not out yet, and fighting back will make it worse. Best way to kill a troll is with kindness, as tempting as it is to troll back. Remember we are better than that.
If you are currently unwilling to accept the other half of America and have respectful discussions:
You are welcome back once you are. You're not yet ready and that's ok. Just consider the divide in reality and trace back it's source. It's how the truth is reported. Same when it was only radio news, or only written news.
All news is subject to error. So the "fake news" you see on the other side is indeed "fake" according to your opposite reality. But the other side feels the exact same way. They are both fake, and yet both fake realities are imperceivable to their own sides.
We'll leave you with a message from our founder:
I can tell you one thing for certain: it's that I'm not omnipotent enough to be certain about anything. I could even be wrong on this. That unfiltered clarity has helped me see reality as subject to individual opinion, even my own. There is no right opinion, that's why it's an opinion, and opinions must remain flexible to change/adjustments or they're not opinions but delusions of grandeur.
My opinion is tin, yours is copper, but the truth is the steel forged between them. That should be the mindset of every American.
Not sure if you're ready to unplug? Read on.
Don't worry, that feeling is absolutely normal. It takes strength, but once you accept your own vulnerabilities to bias news, the joy of seeing the other side fall so you demand more of those moments, the more you realize our "news" is is a product of our own demand. And that demand tells the profit-driven media to show you more of those moments, and if they run out, that's when the reality divide happens, and a neutral moment becomes a victory for your side or a loss for the other to feed our demand for a dopamine release via "win for us" or "loss for them". It's that simple.
Test that theory for yourself by looking up any subject in neutral wording like "explain (insert current buzzword)", then include either Fox News, or CNN. See their headline, how it's worded. Then do the same for the other side. If you want to see the example even further, watch both segments and start with the opposing side before watching your own. Understand the face flushed anger you feel watching the opposing side's news, it's because it's so opposite of your side. None of it makes any sense, right? Then you watch your side and you feel safe. Familiar. Because we are both used to completely different realities, the side you don't understand also has 20+ years of seasons you've missed.
This is why we need to reset our news, everything else must be classified as "opinion" and can't claim to be news. We haven't looked at protecting ourselves from media manipulation since our media became extremely open. Anyone can claim to report news now and aren't held to standards.
We are currently in the wild west of truth.
But we deserve untainted truth to source from. We must become self-aware that our emotions are being manipulated by politicians via the media for profits and power, but WE are the country, THEY are the problem, and WE must fix it. We must tell them to stop farming us for ratings and profits, using our own politically-charged dopamine receptors against us. We want the truth, and we must be strong enough to handle the ugly truths.
And you are strong enough. We wrote this long message knowing that those who aren't ready wouldn't make it this far. But you have something pulling at you, telling you the manipulation is happening. So are many others, on the opposite side of yours. We can say that with certainty because we've talked to both sides, and lived in both camps. Everyone is starting to catch on. And so believe us, you are strong enough to question your side's version of things.
Our opinion is that they got too cocky, those who have the most to gain from our discourse (i.e. politicians, corporations, media) started pulling too hard and the veil moved, and we all saw the puppeteers underneath. We've researched both sides for over a decade, We've been watching the patterns, and that's why we feel so disconnected from each other now. Everyone knows it, but there's not enough talking about it because of self-fear of being an "outcast" from the party. And where does that idea of being an outcast come from... the news. They've built-in their own safeguard: don't question our version, or you'll be one of "them". And politicians have always used that tactic to group us together for the sake of votes and their own job security.
So the divide in the country isn't on us, not entirely. It's mainly on the media and most of our leaders, but we also are just naturally prone to that dopamine addiction that has taken hold of our politics and, as a byproduct, our news.
The news has become less like a factual seminar and more like a reality show competition. Neither side has it right.
This is why the news is the one area that must remain entertainment-free and profit-free. The news should be a public service, and as such shouldn't be profit-driven. Take away that, and their ratings won't matter. They won't have to do 24 hour news postings to compete against streaming algorithms. Their competing companies are to our detriment. We are the ones facing the backlash of such irresponsible reporting. We should all demand better.
But we must start with ourselves. Then we organize. Then we fix our news. Both sides. We can get back to the founding father's vision of different people helping each other, because we won't have false narratives about each other.
We are two sides of the same coin. We need each other. We cannot divide.