3 ms·

If you really think that the reason for internal conflict in the USA is all down to external influences, I have to question whether you're actually familiar wit

If you really think that the reason for internal conflict in the USA is all down to external influences, I have to question whether you're actually familiar with the arguments of both sides in question. The concerns run much deeper than you might think on the surface, and both sides have very legitimate gripes. Allowing things to be forced into a false dichotomy rather than the many, many nuanced positions that reality actually holds is probably more likely to be a source of strife and conflict. US social media companies are doing more to fan these flames than anyone else by actively deplatforming and censoring anyone who runs afoul of their social policies. What do you think all these people are going to do? Without any engagement on their concerns, will they just dry up and disappear? I strongly doubt it. To ease the tensions, our first job is to stop viewing our neighbours as enemies. We want 90% the same things as anyone else: stability, safety, prosperity. We have different ideas of how to get there, but we share one thing: people telling us to hate each other based on strawman conceptions about what each other actually believes.

question_folks 6y ago
Yes that's a fair point. I think what I would argue is that if it were not for social media/flash news and parties interested in sensationalizing fringe views, the situation we face now would be less dire. I also doubt that without these interests fanning the flames that these parties would dry up and disappear, and I don't pretend to have a solution to this complex problem. I would merely maintain my point from above and that the solution, if there is one, may be partially represented in acting upon this variable. I agree completely with your last point, that the number one way to avoid civil war is to foster an environment of dialogue. When conversations are impossible, violence results.

question_folks 6y ago

Yes that's a fair point. I think what I would argue is that if it were not for social media/flash news and parties interested in sensationalizing fringe views, the situation we face now would be less dire. I also doubt that without these interests fanning the flames that these parties would dry up and disappear, and I don't pretend to have a solution to this complex problem. I would merely maintain my point from above and that the solution, if there is one, may be partially represented in acting upon this variable. I agree completely with your last point, that the number one way to avoid civil war is to foster an environment of dialogue. When conversations are impossible, violence results.