10-09-2020, 09:01 AM
(10-09-2020, 03:54 AM)Arkarch Wrote: I do not think the current crisis created the polarized views seen today. They have always been there, buried just under the earth by establishment and political correctness. But as distrust of institutions has evaporated into the current crisis, the old wounds have been layed bare, scratched and dirtied by the ideological death match of the boomers leading our world today.
When I talk to a hard conservative, they tell me they have not had a chance to prove their view of the world. When I suggest there have been many Presidents representing their views, they tell me the other Presidents have taken their victories apart. Its no wonder then there is a certain vengeance on Obamas victories. While I have not talked to progressives on the same matter, I am sure they feel the attack on hard-won victories like health care and civil rights. The democratization of news has only fanned the flames of both sides. Its like two kids kicking down each others sand castles. and a crowd has formed.
The recent Netflix show "The Social Dilemma" expressed that everyone on social media has a different view of the world. You and I see different articles on Facebook or Instagram. In an effort to cater to stories that interest each viewer to maximize eyeball time and profit, contextual media has only served to minimize exposure to the wider range of available ideas. This is not new. While I have not studied, no doubt through a wide range of writings, newspapers, and other technologies, the diversification of world view has existed; and in other times newsreels or Walter Cronkite served to unify one world view. Same thing, different time.
As someone with a longer view of things, let me note that the last swing of the pendulum was left to right when Reagan took the reigns in 1980 (arguably started earlier, but let's not get into minutiae). The era is pretty far right, though not far enough to justify the term "fringe". In any case, neoliberal and neoconservative ideas have been tried for 40 years (include both Clintons fully in that camp), so boo-hooing on the right is unjustified at the very least.
Arkarch Wrote:How this resolves? I do believe 2020 is the last deathmatch boomer election (understanding that Biden is Nov 1942 and on the cusp).
I think we have just passed the tipping point of the 4T. The last of our institutions has fallen - our trust in health and the police and the post office and even likely the Supreme Court. What worked for Trump in 2016 will not work today - we have already knocked down everything. Their law and order strategy is just kicking at ghosts.
The polls are now tipping fast. CNN Poll Biden +16 Nationally. Average polls closing in on +10. This is no longer an ideology-driven election - that is now noise. Many centrist Republicans, for which I will count myself, have joined the Biden side. I think people have tired of kicking sandcastles and are now just looking for stability to find solutions and ideas needed to build the world anew.
This is not only counted in politics, but in culture - Who won AGT? - a spoken word poet. Many singers are releasing introspective songs such as Billie Eilish - "My Future" or my fave - Grace Vanderwaal and her unpublished works in progress. Technology is starting to clamp down on the excesses with more warnings about inaccurate posts and filters. The world I knew in February is no longer the world in October - it happened that fast.
Longterm as we pass to the 1T.... While there may be some X-er leadership ahead (edit - Kamela Harris may become a President), I think leading Millennials like Pete Buttigieg on the centrist left and whomever rises on the centrist right will soon be the new drivers of our government and culture. There will remain ideological differences, but maybe the ocean waves will settle and the kids will tire and those sand castles may survive for awhile.
Biden is fully a Silent. I've known them all my life, and, take it from someone educated by nothing but, Biden qualifies. He's the last gasp of the mild mannered center left. If blandness is the resolution of this crisis, standby for a raucous 2T coming soon to a society near you.
Intelligence is not knowledge and knowledge is not wisdom, but they all play well together.