Fake News

A legacy of the "Trump era" will certainly be the introduction of the term "fake news".  It is amazing how both liberals and conservatives think they own the term whenever the disagree with the other side. Liberals for some reason seem to be particularly taken with the notion that only they can discern which news sources can be trusted (which unequivocally means liberals news sites).  But as anyone who has ever studied propaganda, stage magic, behavioral psychology, or even marketing can tell you is the best techniques are the ones that make people think one thing is happening, while doing something else happens.

The invention of "fake news" is a brilliant ploy.  It greats both the belief that the "other guy" is at fault and keeps doubting everything that they read.  It's so perfect that it is frightening.

Just this morning, Kellyanne Conway is making news for referencing a massacre at Bowling Green as justification for the Trump travel ban….except of course no such massacre happened.  So did Ms. Conway make a mistake (thereby causing the liberal left to have further proof of the duplicity of the Trump administration) or was she planting a subliminal thought of a fictional event to create even more cognitive dissonance amongst the masses?

Part of this might be to keep our attention diverted from the build-up by both US and Russian troops throughout Europe.  The significance of these moves get lost in the noise generated by the heavy-handed and obtuse moves by the Trump administration, which in-turn have energized the liberal left to protest nearly every announcement out of the White House these days.  In-turn, the conservative right feels vindicated in their condemnation of all things liberal.  It is a perfect storm that is both self-sustaining and shows no signs of abating.

What should be concern for everyone is the loss of the middle ground.  Calling someone "deplorable" or "progressive" in no way convinces the person being labelled to reconsider their opinion.  The Million Woman March pandered only to a very narrow segment of American women, while completely ignoring all men.  If liberals want to start a revolution, they will have to first start by converting those who don't agree with them.  Conservatives need to abandon their victory dances and realize their neighbors, friends and maybe even relatives are very frightened by what just happened.  Keeping both sides polarized and not talking is NOT in the best interest of the American public.

Keeping liberals and conservatives divided allows things to go on without notice or consensus.  The travel ban happened with no discussion and immediately liberals went to social media to decry the decision.  In turn, conservatives criticized liberals.  No one really was looking at what the ban was (a legacy of the Obama administration) used to target Iran.  What makes me say that?

Today it was announced by the White House has placed new sanctions against Iran for testing ballistic missiles.  The issue is very messy as the wording of the UN treaty does not specifically prohibit missile testing, it is more of an encouragement not to.  Regardless, Mr. Trump has jumped on this to ramp up the rhetoric with Iran.  Given the lack of direct communications between Washington and Tehran, this is very alarming and could mean hostilities.

Of course, this could all be fake news as well to keep us from seeing something else such as China or North Korea.  The use of social media keeps everything moving so quickly that it is difficult to keep track and whenever you try, it is designed to exhaust you.

Rather than shut down, keep the dialog open with those who don't think like you.  You might just surprise each other.