> How did we arrive to this point where a huge chunk of the population is in one reality and another huge chunk of the population is in another reality? It's a

> How did we arrive to this point where a huge chunk of the population is in one reality and another huge chunk of the population is in another reality? It's always been that way. We've been at war with each other since the very beginning. North vs South. Federalists vs Anti-Federalists. Nativists vs Pro-Immigration. Protectionist vs Free Trade. Heck, just a decade or so into the republic a vice president and a secretary of treasury had a duel. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burr%E2%80%93Hamilton_duel https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burr%E2%80%93Hamilton_duel The easiest tell is in the name. "United" States of America. If we were so united, we wouldn't have the need to put united since it would be self-evident. The only times we've come together, briefly, is when we have a common enemy - whether it is natives, blacks, germans, japanese, russians, chinese, mexicans, etc. For a brief few weeks, the country was united after 9/11. > Segregation of information sources? Politicization of media outlets? Self-reinforcing social bubbles? A combination of all of them and more? Nope. You can have the same information and two people are going to come to two different conclusions. Forcing the entire country to watch CNN or Foxnews isn't going to solve the problem. It is just going to antagonize one side even more. You can argue that it is impossible for a country as large as the US ( or china, russia, india, etc ) to be "united". Too many people across too vast a territory to keep everyone's interests aligned. Heck, you can argue that these aren't really countries but empires too. And all empires eventually crumble. But the truth is that huge chunks of the population have lived under different realities in the US since the very beginning and has continued ever since.