Guest Column: Navigating the political divide
Editor’s note: Guest Columns and Letter to The Editors are pubished as submitted. Submission instructions are available at usustatesman.com.
Can you relate to the following sentence?
In the past, I have felt overwhelmed, frustrated, or hopeless after seeing updates on politics and recent events.
Me too.
When I see news and political updates on social media, I’m filled with dread and paralysis as I see extreme narratives being presented to me. What is real? Why is political violence everywhere? How did we get here?
To understand why our democracy is breaking down, we need to understand what it takes for a democracy to work – an educated public and a shared sense of reality. Many historians argue that the invention of the printing press paved the way for democracy. As education became cheaper and more widespread, individuals no longer relied on an educated, elite class to rule them – they could cast educated votes on how they wanted to be governed.
Democracy was a great step forward for humankind, but we are now seeing a breakdown. Today, many people spend hours on social media – tailored content that triggers euphoria or dread to keep you engaged and go viral. Your algorithm shows you a tailored, extreme reality – different from what your neighbors are seeing. Democracy is breaking down because we are losing our shared sense of reality. Political violence is on the rise – but wouldn’t a revolution seem valid if these distorted narratives were actually reality?
We cannot make progress solving any problem – government overreach, the climate crisis, the cost of living – if we can’t agree on what the reality of the problem is.
But what can I do? I’m just one person.
Disengage from inflammatory media
Don’t use social media as a news source – its goal is not to inform you, it’s to engage you. The easiest way to do that is by provoking anger.
Don’t engage. If you see something you don’t like, don’t engage with it – your engagement will only help it reach a larger audience.
Get informed
Get informed on what news sources are valid. I use Ad Fontes Media – a media watchdog and public benefit corporation – to identify trustworthy sources. Their Media Bias Chart ranks news outlets based on political bias and news value and reliability.
Get your information from high-quality sources. For news updates, I use Tangle, a non-partisan, subscriber-funded media organization. They provide a free newsletter with news updates that is trusted by both the left and right. Sign up for their free newsletter here.
Get involved
Social media has trained us to talk in inflammatory ways. Practice good faith communication to have productive conversations.
Reengage in democracy – vote!
Get registered. Information on how to get registered is here. Note: Utah voting system is a closed primary system, meaning that each political party has a closed election to choose its candidate for the general election, where only registered party members can vote.
-If you are an active registered voter, your ballot will automatically be mailed to whatever address you listed when you registered.
Learn about the candidates and cast your vote.
Find other productive ways to get involved. USU’s Heravi Peace Institute is a great resource.
Sarah Sabey Peterson is a student in Masters of Anticipatory Intelligence at USU. She has worked as an intern at Tangle, a non-partisan, subscriber funded news outlet.
— sarah.peterson@usu.edu