At no time in human history has the average person had more access to information than they do today, yet we remain as aggressively ignorant as our most benighted and oppressed ancestors.
The thing I find most tragic about the situation in America is how far we have fallen from the wide-spread curiosity and common sense of previous generations, up to and including my own. With far less access to the infinite sources of information we enjoy today, we nevertheless remained connected to world on a daily basis.
First via pamphlets and newspapers then later by radio and three television channels, Americans prided themselves on staying current with current events. Most never traveled further than the cities where they were born unless they were unlucky enough to march off to war, but that didn’t stop them from learning and growing.
The inverse is true today. The Internet makes it easy for people to find confirmation for their preexisting conclusions. America traded wide-eyed curiosity and existential exploration for political homogeneity and intellectual dishonesty. The extent to which we have settled for shit results is truly astounding.
The 2016 presidential primaries are shaping up as a mirror reflecting both our noblest and basest instincts as a people. We’ve suffered such turning points before. No matter who is elected come November, voters have a long road ahead to turn a predatory system to better uses. Power won’t yield without a fight.