A Fractured Dawn

I have the feeling that the natural protective device at this moment is to withdraw...from the news, from the speculation over what went wrong and from each other. We are exhausted by the whole sorry mess, exhausted by 8 years of trying to comprehend the incomprehensible, exhausted by the vile hate, by the irreparable rents in the fabric of our society. Just exhausted. 

I can turn off the news, but try as I might, I can't turn off my brain which is still working overtime to try to understand...what has happened to us? 

I recognize and accept that I enjoy economic comfort and the privilege that comes with it. What I don't accept is that it has been achieved on the backs of the less advantaged. I accept that there are those who, through no fault of their own, live in poverty. I have worked all my life to support causes designed to help lift them out of poverty or help them not to be there in the first place. What I don't accept is that deportation of immigrants, lowering taxes on the wealthy and corporations and policies that destroy the already fragile climate and deny women equal rights are going to do anything to support the underprivileged. So again, I ask myself...What has happened to us?

What my exhausted brain has concluded is that the culprits are polarization...political, economic and social, and disinformation, both driven primarily by social media but by other more traditional kinds of media as well.  We have become a society of 'us vs them' and the gap between the two widens as the media we consume is driven by what we want to hear. Pervasive right wing media have portrayed a healthy economy as 'failing' and the falling crime rate as a crime wave driven by an invasion of immigrants. 

Liberal media has failed to accurately explain the  underlying reasons for poverty which can leave the poor with the notion that they are not understood, or that the liberals set themselves up as better than they are and know better then they do what is best for them.These  narratives have driven a wedge to further separate our already polarized society and shield the consumers of conservative media from the statements of Trump's former staff that he is unfit for office. 

I don't think the liberal press is blameless, but there can be no communication if nobody is listening. And I don't have a clue what to do about it, which is why it's so exhausting....