4 ms·

> generally because it repeatedly failed to meet their basic needs I think it is no longer relevant. How much of the needs are met is decided by the social med

by hkpack 2y ago

> generally because it repeatedly failed to meet their basic needs I think it is no longer relevant. How much of the needs are met is decided by the social media now. I personally know people making life altering decisions based on the fake news. Their world is detached from the reality in such a way, that they don't believe their own eyes. People now see a world mostly thought the screen of their phone.

bell-cot 2y ago
>> failed to meet their basic needs > I think that is no longer relevant. Try reading some of the NYT's long-running coverage, about how life has gone down, down, downhill for "the other half" of America, over the past half-ish century. Or read some of the backstory on the 1994 Contract with American/Republican Revolution, and think about why huge numbers American voters - most of whom had historically voted democratic - were so unhappy that they switched to the Republicans. Or check out some of the US Govt's stuff on that - say, https://www.jec.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/republicans/2019/9/long-term-trends-in-deaths-of-despair https://www.jec.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/republicans/2019... (2019) Things were going to hell, for a whole lotta Americans, long before there were smart phones.
- trilbyglens 2y ago
  No reading needed, just go there. 100% chance you can drive 30 minutes from wherever you live to find a neighborhood that used to be nice that is now in shambles. Go a bit further and you enter into ghost towns and places where the sole infrastructure for life is a single Walmart. Trailers with tires on the roof, cars with parts missing. It's all around you if you just pay attention to it.
- hkpack 2y ago
  It is funny because I agree with you, a lot of things got worse. My point is that it is the natural consequence of people losing the ability to agree on what is actually going on. When you lose grip on reality, you lose the ability to make any meaningful change.
  - bell-cot 2y ago
    The underlying disagreement is over this: "Things are going okay for me, and mine, and the folks I care about". Which is all about PoV, not some objective facts. And when people are really hurting and angry - their words and actions will be all about voicing their painful emotions and acting accordingly. Not ivory-tower truths.
- jfengel 2y ago
  It's been 30 years since 1994, during which time Republicans have had overwhelming control of the legislature, substantial control over the executive, and a lock on the judiciary that is going to outlive me. Have things improved? If not, perhaps they need to consider another tactic than voting for Republicans.

by hkpack 2y ago

bell-cot 2y ago

>> failed to meet their basic needs > I think that is no longer relevant. Try reading some of the NYT's long-running coverage, about how life has gone down, down, downhill for "the other half" of America, over the past half-ish century. Or read some of the backstory on the 1994 Contract with American/Republican Revolution, and think about why huge numbers American voters - most of whom had historically voted democratic - were so unhappy that they switched to the Republicans. Or check out some of the US Govt's stuff on that - say, https://www.jec.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/republicans/2019/9/long-term-trends-in-deaths-of-despair https://www.jec.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/republicans/2019... (2019) Things were going to hell, for a whole lotta Americans, long before there were smart phones.

trilbyglens 2y ago
No reading needed, just go there. 100% chance you can drive 30 minutes from wherever you live to find a neighborhood that used to be nice that is now in shambles. Go a bit further and you enter into ghost towns and places where the sole infrastructure for life is a single Walmart. Trailers with tires on the roof, cars with parts missing. It's all around you if you just pay attention to it.
hkpack 2y ago
It is funny because I agree with you, a lot of things got worse. My point is that it is the natural consequence of people losing the ability to agree on what is actually going on. When you lose grip on reality, you lose the ability to make any meaningful change.
- bell-cot 2y ago
  The underlying disagreement is over this: "Things are going okay for me, and mine, and the folks I care about". Which is all about PoV, not some objective facts. And when people are really hurting and angry - their words and actions will be all about voicing their painful emotions and acting accordingly. Not ivory-tower truths.
jfengel 2y ago
It's been 30 years since 1994, during which time Republicans have had overwhelming control of the legislature, substantial control over the executive, and a lock on the judiciary that is going to outlive me. Have things improved? If not, perhaps they need to consider another tactic than voting for Republicans.