5 ms·

I'd move the time machine about 20 years later to the 70s. Yes, we still had 3 networks then. And all three (plus AP, UPI & Reuters) gave us a pretty middle-of-

I'd move the time machine about 20 years later to the 70s. Yes, we still had 3 networks then. And all three (plus AP, UPI & Reuters) gave us a pretty middle-of-the-road view of the world. And, I would argue, we were a much more cohesive society because of this. By the 70s there was much more sensitivity for minorities then there was in the 50s and that was starting to show in journalism as well. Women's rights were making great strides - the ERA came very close to passing (something that likely couldn't happen now with so many state legislatures controlled by the right wing ). We were becoming very aware of environmental degradation and staring to do something about it. Having grown up in the 70s I find that era much preferable to today's 24/7, highly partisan news cycle. News outlets now are highly politicized and ideologically specialized. There is no cohesive vision for how to live together at this point. Sure, there were outliers back then (as the article suggests) - I vaguely remember John Birchers, but nobody took them seriously - now it's like Bircher views are mainstreamed and we're supposed to accept them as a viable view with some kind of equal footing among all the other views.

marcinzm 5y ago
Here's a dirty secret: when the economy is growing people tend to be content and not too partisan. No need to be too concerned who is in power since it's unlikely they'll make your good life much worse. Maybe you won't benefit as much versus the other candidate but either one will result in a good life. The 70s are roughly when that stopped being the case in America. The actual income adjusted for inflation hasn't increased since the 70s despite economic growth. Income disparity has increased as wealth was concentrated in a small percentage of the population. Technology has made many jobs obsolete and it's only getting worse. College and medical costs have skyrocketed.

marcinzm 5y ago

Here's a dirty secret: when the economy is growing people tend to be content and not too partisan. No need to be too concerned who is in power since it's unlikely they'll make your good life much worse. Maybe you won't benefit as much versus the other candidate but either one will result in a good life. The 70s are roughly when that stopped being the case in America. The actual income adjusted for inflation hasn't increased since the 70s despite economic growth. Income disparity has increased as wealth was concentrated in a small percentage of the population. Technology has made many jobs obsolete and it's only getting worse. College and medical costs have skyrocketed.