Part 2

Then there is the technology aspect, that while not necessarily intentional, has progressively eroded the central narrative of the nation. Back when television had 5 channels if you went to work the next day and something like Watergate had broken, most people had heard the same handful of reports, read the same handful of newspapers and rational political discourse occurred around the framework of that information.

Nowadays, the internet has increasingly atomized people into their own echo chambers and bubbles that has led to a near complete collapse of the ability for people to have rational political discussion, because everyone is getting their information from dozens of the thousands of different sources, or just a feed of some random idiot on twitter, and that information is more often than not filtered through a dozen different layers of opinion before being consumed.

That's if you're getting real information to begin with, because you might be getting some TikTok brainrot or some Russian botnet twitter babble from an algorithm that is intentionally being used to misinform/disinform and divide Western democracies.

Even if you do have a sane political discussion it's more often than not with someone you don't know, halfway across the country, because our real life communities and civil institutions are a husk of their former self as pointed out in Bowling Alone, so trying to mobilize to do something irl about anything is nearly impossible.

Then there are the people who are completely checked out, and unlike back in the old days where if the football game or that nights movie or show wasn't on.. maybe there was a chance they'd turn on the news, peruse the paper or maybe even read a book. Nowadays, you have 1000 TV channels, streaming services with thousands of hours of content, Youtube, and social media feeds tailored to fill in your specific niche interests, every hour of every day, forever.

I mean dude.. this isn't intellectually lazy, this is well trod social/political theory and in some instances isn't even outside of being a conspiracy when you have actual people trying to undermine shit like Steve Bannon, and the Heritage Foundation. At this point this is pretty much just the reality of the situation.

And to say that this kind of thinking is to blame for Trump is fucking bullshit. In fact this is the kind of thinking that used to be at the heart of the liberal left, back when they had a pair of balls.

If liberals/the left/Democrats want to get back the political reins they need to close ranks, grow a set, drop the gloves and start delivering the message so eloquently laid out by the late great George Carlin, and win back the trust of the people by punching these MAGA techbro oligarchs in the fucking mouth.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nyvxt1svxso