As we enter a new year, one reflection I can make about 2014
is that the chasm in America between those basing their views on reality and
those who choose to live in an ideological fantasyland is wider and deeper than
it has been since the Civil War. The economy has been improving, the Affordable
Care Act is working, with ten million more people having health care than
before the act was signed into law, and marriage equality and legalized
marijuana have become business as usual.
Despite all of this, and despite being wrong nearly every
time they opened their mouths, Republicans were given the keys to Congress by
the voters last November. Go to the comment section of any political article on
the Internet and there you’ll find them, the angry, vitriolic, fact-challenged
conservatives, hurling insults, straw men arguments and ad hominem attacks
without actually addressing any of the issues brought up in the piece. Why?
Because they have no facts to refute reality, and can only respond with
ideological tropes and blunt anger.
Although FOX News is a major culprit in furthering the
divide between conservatives and the fact-based population, the mainstream
media bears a great deal of responsibility for our current situation. Afraid to
challenge the status quo, afraid of losing viewers, afraid of offending their
corporate overlords, the media today allows ignorance to reign free and lies to
stand for truth.
Politically, I don’t have a very positive outlook for the
coming year. Like alchemists trying to turn lead into gold, Republicans will
continue trying to make reality into their own selfish, narrow-minded image and
will fail miserably. Problem is, we the people are the ones who will suffer
from their stupidity, and the gap between reality and failed ideology will
continue growing until it eventually swallows us all.
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