What Is Fake News To Me?

![Fake news and partisanship][1] I am trying to understand what lead us to this point. We are at a time and place where the facts, the actions, and the consequences of those facts and actions matter very little. What really matters today is who did it, who said it, and whose ideology are they pandering to. At some point, we stop having critical news anchors and a responsible media that took the first amendment to heart and saw themselves as protector of free speech and a check on power. Now, we have a media that is an inherent and important part of the political process and it's a tool of power and domination thru indoctrination and brainwashing. As long as what is been said supports the narrative we want everyone to believe, there are no checks on facts, or through review of policies. There is no hard thinking. There is only the left and right. So now we are all here, having to pick sides, instead of debating the issues. The media that for so long was the hallmark of this country success and allowed us to tell the world that this is the land of the free, is now one of the most divisive forces in the country. The real sad story is that there are no real alternatives. There is no objective reporting anymore, and it seems that it is only going to get worse. Where the press used to play an important role checking facts and holding people to standards, it now enables a world of alternative facts. That's because in a divided world the truth doesn't matter anymore. No one is trying to analyze the impact of policy, behavior or conduct. It's not about the truth, it's about convincing us of a particular narrative, it's one side winning over the other. And since there is no real debate, facts are only relevant as a way to support a point of view and as a tool of demagogy, and to that point, they will be bend to fit the script. When we are so absorbed in that narrative that we stop thinking critically, we became willing paws in someone else's game of chess, and that's happening everyday. The reality is that It is much easier to divide and conquer than put up the work to really have pragmatic conversations. Having an open dialog in a world of multiple opinions and points of views is much harder than a brute force attack. Populism and demagogy have been tools of control for a long time because they work. But we should know better, and if we did care for what this country stands for, we should know that this path does not lead to a good ending. With social media and the internet, anyone willing to exploit this dichotomy, and the hatred, and divisiveness that it's creating in the heart of the country, has now the ability to reach the masses and become extremely powerful and relevant. You have a number of high profile personalities whose sole purpose is to not to have a dialog but use a populist agenda to try to attend to a certain base by destroying anyone with a different point of view. Our Presidential campaign showed how divided we became with the rise of Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump. If there is no conversation, no dialog, but just an internal war of left versus right, how can government function? How can we move forward? This divisiveness is everywhere. I am personally not a proponent of President Trump's populist style, which only leads to more divisiveness. But on the other hand, he does have, in my view, very valid points regarding foreign policy, our trade deficit, and immigration. The problem is that we may never see any of the valid points being properly discussed or implemented. That's because of we don't have a functioning government anymore, and if the Democrats take control of the legislative houses on midterm election, impeachment will be the only talk in town. Even now, with Republicans in control, the Mueller investigation is clearly a partisan effort to undermine his presidency. Not to say that it is without merit, but at the same time recognizing that this investigation has been weaponized. Would be any Different if Hillary had won? Would the Republicans be graceful and supportive of her presidency on points that would make us better as a country? The answer is emphatically no. So I will end as I started. What lead us to this point? Are there any real alternatives? Or has the media and system of government become so corrupt, that we are in the point of no return? That's not what I want for the next generation, or our generation for that matter. That's not how this country became the greatest and most powerful nation in the world. It's hard to even approach anyone to have this conversation when the most common phrases you hear these days are " If you are a Trump supporter we won't get along", or "I Don't want to hear your liberal nonsense". We know that this not productive and it won't lead to a just and inclusive future. But why spend any time solving a problem if we can just blame someone else, "energize" my base and consolidate power by manipulating the narrative? We also have to look internally. what are we doing, individually, that allows this to happen? Are we so selfish and short-term focused that we don't care about the consequences as long as we get ours today? What do you think would happen if Bernie Sander had become our president? In a time where social security and Medicare are bankrupt, How were we going to pay for all the extra social benefits? The point is, we have some thought decisions to make, but tough decision don't get you elected. Promises or getting us more for free, or encouraging us to believe that another group is responsible for your problems and there is an easy way to solve it, does. And you know what? That lie, that we all know it is a lie, but allows us not to have to confront the truth. That lie, in this time and place, wins every time. As long as we are willing to have a blind eye and lie to ourselves; the media, the politicians, and everyone in between will take advantage of it, and we will be weaker for it. So let's discuss the alternatives, our government, our education system and talk about how we can get back to the basic. I don't want to believe that we reached our peak after 200 years and we are just about to become the next Rome. [1]: https://sites.lsa.umich.edu/learn-speak-act/wp-content/uploads/sites/543/2017/04/brian-700x349.jpg