If you believe the mainstream media (I don’t), 51% of the USA adores our duly elected President, while the other 49% wish one of the two failed assassination attempts had been successful.
I see this seething hatred of Trump online, and I see it in the media. Because I exist in an echo chamber, the only time I see praise and adoration for our new President is in clips shared by his detractors as examples of how stupid Trump supporters are.
I can’t help but wonder if this snide, superior attitude on the left is exactly what drove people toward the right. A Newsweek article published on November 9, 2024 claims that those who supported Obama are now the ones supporting Trump.
Do I believe that? I don’t know! I don’t know what to believe anymore. I now think it’s just as likely we’re in a simulation run by the aliens we keep seeing in those leaked UFO videos, and they’re trolling* us for their amusement.
*In the context of simulated worlds, “griefing” is the proper term.
The new administration’s team lineup appears to be finalized, giving us a clear picture of who will be running the show for the next four years. Meanwhile, reports suggest that “the Republicans” are unhappy with some, if not all, of the selections. On the left, many of these choices are dismissed as part of what critics are calling a clown show.
But are they clowns, really? Or is this just how they’re being portrayed by a clearly biased news media? The right doesn’t have a monopoly on radical bias, and again, I think this over-the-top bias had a major effect on how the vote skewed right. People no longer trust the news media and so assume it’s all lies.
I don’t blame them. I don’t trust mainstream media either. They don’t care about truth; they care about advertising dollars. This has always been the case, but it’s far worse now due to increased competition in the media. Fearmongering has become the go-to strategy for capturing attention. By keeping people angry, divided, and scared, the media ensures consistent viewership, driving up ad revenue.
The politicians are all too willing to help, especially those on the right, because without division, they generally lose. Both the right- and left-leaning media are incentivized to keep the division intact, no matter what they say about wanting to help “bring everyone together.”
They all lose money on slow news days.
Speaking of which, as I write this, the news media is stoking the fear of impending nuclear war, so much so I saw an article with a map of the USA purportedly showing the best places to move if you want to be away from all the atomic blasts. You know, because those annoying mushroom clouds are bad for the local real estate markets.
Side note: I live well within the blast zone of one of the major targets. If nuclear war breaks out, I’ll have nothing to worry about because I will be vaporized. All my problems gone in a flash.
So along with the rest of the frightened, angry, disappointed people in my echo chamber, I fear what is going to happen as we move deeper into this dystopia. Then again, I also find myself morbidly curious. How bad will it get, really? Can it match the wildest fears of the supposed 49% whose candidate didn’t win? Or is this all just hysteria?
I’ve stocked up on emergency food rations, just in case.