Those of us in the west tend to forget that much of what we see is a form of propaganda, whether by governments or businesses, or even a large number of people. When you keep this in mind, everything you see becomes an opinion and your mind can comfortably (or at least not emotionally/hurriedly) form your own opinion over time.
This reminds me of two quotes: "The point of modern propaganda isn't only to misinform or push an agenda. It is to exhaust your critical thinking, to annihilate truth." -Garry Kasparov. And "This constant lying is not aimed at making the people believe a lie, but at ensuring that no one believes anything anymore." This latter quote is, rather ironically, a false quote! (falsely attributed to Hannah Arendt). But I sti…
Our intuitions, outrage, and knee-jerk reactions are being weaponized to gain clicks, votes, donations, and "action".
Many a dictatorship has fallen in the wake of social media revolutions. I wonder how long democracy can last?
In a would-be-funny-if-it-weren't-tragic ironic twist both of the two main US parties see themselves as the last guardians of democracy and frame their opponents as Evil, against which "any means necessary" is the only reasonable course of action.
(Yes, the party you disagree with is way worse and it's all their fault, this whataboutism indeed has to end, absolutely)
And here we all are.