Path to Conservatism

How Americans get trapped in this echo chamber and the remedy.

Growing up, I always considered my father a progressive man. He was one to stand up for social liberties and believed it was the governments duty to assist its denizens through public programs. He was also a man with high expectations. As the Obama years went on, he became more skeptical of Democratic doctrine. While he agreed the Affordable Care Act was in the right direction, my father did not bite his tongue to its numerous flaws and contradictions. At the same time, he became more critical of social movements, such as the BLM protests and transgendered marches.

What was more interesting, was how my fathers personal life had evolved during this time frame. To put it short, he became a recluse. The man dedicated much of his time to his work, often staying up late and interacting little with family members. A once hiker and explorer, my dad’s travels were limited to his commutes to work. He once had a friend group with whom he would have monthly reunions with. In parallel to his change in attitude, his interactions with his friends became as frequent as his interactions with his mother-in-law.

Although a solitary individual, my father is far from the only person to fall down this path. To distance oneself from the world is common as we age. The propagation of the Internet and social media has only encouraged such a theme. While some grow into this life style, a large portion of American citizens are born and raised in this confinement. Small rural farming communities and isolated suburban hubs experience little interaction with the remainder of the country. An appreciation for rustic and suburban living isn’t sin. As an urbanite, I do find the experience vapid. Yet, many Americans are quite content.

After working and traveling through many southern states, the United States heartland, and the rust belt states, I’ve seen a clear difference in mental perspective between people that live in inland United States and those that do not. The fact that these states tend to swing right politically is no secret.

Growing up with little diversity in thought, background, and experience, the Americans of these landlocked regions have developed generalizations and philosophies influenced considerably by the equally limited perspectives of their previous generation. With minimal interaction with other cultures, people in these regions have to take the word of those that came before them. Most of the stories that are told are dated, biased, and often anecdotal. Yet, there is little reason for mistrust. Unless one has been trained or has the ability to critically analyze presented information, they have no reason to not take one’s word as factual.

One can contribute this disability to a broken education system, which I believe the G.O.P. fully takes advantage of, or innocent gullibility passed down with each generation. Either the reason, generalizations and false stereotypes are easily adopted as truth. With little opposition in thought, radical stories become the only ingots of evidence. Coupling these stories with minimal interaction to the rest of the world, makes it easier to brush off the misfortunes of others.

As a result of this myopic perspective, there is a culture shock between individuals from conservative regions and those from liberal environments. This shock can come in the form of making a comment that is deemed racist or sexist. While to members of liberal background negative comments on abortion rights or immigrants can be considered offensive, to a rural influenced individual these are the facts that they were raised with. Leading up to the point of opposition, a person speaking conservative doctrine knows their statements to be as true as a dog knows they can catch their tail.

Well educated and affluent right leaning folk are not exempt from spewing idealistic and naive statements. A close friend of my, who identifies a right centrist, tends to have jarring opinions about the African American community. His thoughts fall into the narrative that blames Black communities for their own misfortunes. Yet, he’s never once interacted with people from those communities. He’s never stepped into impoverished neighborhoods where caging your windows and being doubtful of police officers is the norm. Reading about such locations pales in comparison to living in them. This mindset, however, is widespread. Many people on his side of the spectrum share such a mentality, because of their lack of life experiences, stories handed to them by past generations, and, today, the influence of media.

With misinformed and dogmatic individuals, it is easy to get flustered. Yet, rebuking ignorance only makes people of all affiliations more adamant in their beliefs. As a I stated earlier, this incorrect information is what they were raised with; these doctrines are the pillars of what they know. There are few for whom it is simple to accept that what they believe to know and understand is wrong. In moments of attack people panic and defend. They look for support and amicable friends. The endless screaming of media on the television screen becomes the ideal support team.

Conservative media has become less of a news station and more of a drunken banter at a airport bar. The news stations are full of anchors that boast their support for the common American, yet make a salary that is considerably greater. I suppose those employed by conservative media outlets simply followed in their party leader’s footsteps. Putting this aside, the attitude of such media does give solace to the rural citizen whose views might be considered out of touch. There is a reminder with the spirit of a high school football team that someone has your back.

The media contributes to the further isolation of the person. One does not need to deal with the discomfort that their views maybe incorrect or misinformed knowing that there is a television box at home ready to agree with them. With an inability to analyze the information presented to them, limited global interaction, and consistent exposure to the media, it can be easy to further radicalize a viewer. This is one of the reasons, the Republican party has become more far right while the Democratic party’s motion to the left has been marginal. The echo chamber on the right is far more developed.

There is the belief that exposure to the internet was meant to fix the growing division between people of differing views. On the internet, users can interact with others in different parts of the world in mere seconds. Surely this would facilitate the growth of cultivated and open minded people. This thought process may have been realistic during the nascent days of the internet. Yet, the growth of algorithms that attempt to increase instant gratification of its users has destroyed the vision. People no longer view facts or diverse opinions when they use search engines. Instead they view what an algorithm has predicted a person of their viewing history wants to see. Search engines categorize us by our tastes, values, age, race, and even political leaning. If you search “is Hillary Clinton the spawn of Satan?”, you will get multiple hits confirming your belief. With a lack of self-discipline, common sense, and healthy skepticism the internet will push you to your political extreme.

Aggressive personal action doesn’t seem to work. Debates on internet forums further segregate us by ideology. How do we catch up those that have fallen behind? People who are disconnected from reality and afraid. Media — social, televised, or radio — is clearly no longer a solution. The lost Americans have entrenched themselves and develop adamant stances.

I propose taking a page out of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr’s book. In the 1960’s, many southern states and rural areas of the United States had continued to oppress members of the Black community by denying them their right to vote. People in northern states were not free to blame. Northerns were fully aware of the matters in the south, but were content with the promises made by the 15th amendment.

One of Dr. King’s notable solutions was to amass a group of protesters and march from Selma, Alabama to the capitol Montgomery. Two-thirds of the protesters were African American. Their march into deep rural Alabama was incredibly dangerous. This was one of the most racist regions of the United States. Over three thousand lynchings occurred in Alabama between 1882 and 1968.

The group of peaceful protesters marched through Alabama knowing the dangers. Lives were lost during the protest. Both Black and Caucasian protesters were mercilessly beat. The police shot tear gas at unarmed civilians. The events were televised and the United States remembered how to feel. Dr. King demonstrated to the country that the troubles and sufferings of the Black community were real. This was not merely another topic for politicians to put on the back burner.

The theme that guides people to conservatism is isolation. In isolation people are unable to understand the problems of others. They are grounded in a way of thinking that is further promoted by their ancestors and few neighbors. By moving into their territory, Dr. King demonstrated to the United States the reality of the world. The peaceful protests in safe liberal cities and sinkholes must cease. If conservative America is to understand the strife, struggle, and disagreements that lie in the hearts of immigrants, dreamers, members of the LGBTQ community, individuals of various religious and non-religious groups, pro-choice individuals, underpaid women, and the billions of people whose lives will be tarnished by climate change, then the protests and movements must enter conservative territory. Americans must march into conservative America and demonstrate the magnitude of their problems. Then, minds will begin to change.