I grew up about 20
minutes west of Portland, Oregon where I was constantly surrounded by things
and ideas that might seem like overkill to even the most liberal democrats.
Most people don’t know that Oregon is actually fairly conservative, especially
in the southeastern part of the state, but Portland generally gets to be the
voice for the entire state even if their ideals don’t line up
with everyone else’s. In the last
seven election Oregon has voted for the Democratic presidential nominee, it
currently has two Democratic senators, four out of five House representatives
are Democrats, the past three governors have been Democrats and it has a Democratic-controlled
Legislature. Most of the people I was surrounded by considered themselves
Democrats, just like the vast
majority of Portland, and a lot of them are still on my social media feeds.
My dad’s side of
the family is from central Nebraska, arguably one of the most conservative
states in the country. The beef state voted for a Republican president the last
seven elections, has two Republican senators, three out of three House representatives
are Republicans, the two out of past three governors have been Republicans but
it has nonpartisan Legislature. I spent many summers near Broken Bow, near
Custer County, many of the people I met or am related to are also in my social
media feeds every day.
I
like to think that I grew up with a good mix of both sides and getting to see
both views. While I don’t consider myself purple, I definitely lean to one side
more than the other, I couldn’t imagine unfollowing, unfriending or blocking
every person that had a different ideological view than I do, I would make some
friends and family a little bit mad if I did. I believe that seeing both sides
of the issue, like dissoi logoi, or at least two different sides, forces me to
open my eyes more and form my own opinions on it.
Some
people don’t currently see things this way, they only want to be surrounded by
people and information that reaffirms their ideas and beliefs. It is thought
this is part of the reason Trump is now sitting in the White House, because
while the filter bubble isn’t a new notion, it’s currently easier than ever to
achieve. When people segregate themselves from other information, they also
risk cutting off their access to accurate information. One of the biggest
concerns with it is that
citizens have no common basis for agreement or connection when their flows of
information are so polarized; a phenomenon intensified by a fragmented media
landscape and advanced personalization technology. But there is hope, people
like Bill Gates believe that while this is a big problem, it will self-correct
over time.
Sources:
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