While seemingly unprepared and overwhelmed authorities try to sort out yesterday’s events at the U.S. Capitol, we once again have to rely on the various news and information sources who have contributed to the fear and distrust that has generated so much unrest throughout our Republic over the past two decades – especially the past four years.
Let’s start with the MEDIA: I submit that our first step as a consuming public, is to clearly communicate to our media that they are not only the primary cause – but, more importantly, they now need to step up and be a critical component of the cure. This starts with the “mainstream,” or “legacy” media – be it long-revered print such as the New York Times, Washington Post, LA Times, Wall Street Journal; the primary television and radio networks (NBC, ABC, CBS, CNN, FoxNews, etc.); or those in social media with the most extensive reach and influence – i.e. Facebook, Twitter, Google, YouTube, etc. Cancel subscriptions, diversify your sources, express your outrage to your federal and state representatives.
Education – get involved: With the subordination and/or elimination of Civics, U.S. and World History, is there any doubt that this has created generations of ignorance as to how America came to be? Needless to say, these critical subjects need to objectively include the good, the bad, and the ugly when it comes to humankind – here and throughout the world. From slavery practices going back thousands of years to even today (e.g. Sex Trafficking, today’s sweat shops and re-education camps in China), our younger generations will additionally benefit from comparative looks at world religions and cultures. Ultimately, we must learn from history – not erase it.
Empty political rhetoric and HYPOCRISY: Enough already of the empty promises to set aside our differences, forgive and re-unite as a country. Enough of the rampant hypocrisy that is overwhelming all Americans, whether conservative or liberal. Speaking of “liberal,” that word used to represent open-mindedness, being receptive not only to new ideas, but to others’ opinions. How and when did our culture become so illiberal and closed-minded?
Cancel Culture and War on Words: Over the past two decades and at least three Administrations, “Political Correctness” has morphed into a “Cancel Culture” intent upon further limiting our ability to honestly and effectively communicate. Instead of promoting introspection and humility, and continuing to grow our English/American vocabulary, politicians and academia seem to have declared wars on words – actually banning utterances that might amount to micro or macro “aggressions.” The House of Representatives just banned references to gender in a law-making body that must rely on clarity and equity. As one opponent stated, “How can you claim to stand for Women’s Rights at the same time you are prohibiting any references to women?”
America has lost its Sense of Humor. We can no longer even make fun of ourselves – lest we might inadvertently insult or hurt the feelings of others. Making fun of our leaders In Washington, D.C. used to be a favorite and even uniquely American pastime. And it was bipartisan. Everyone was fair game. Many Americans ended their day with a favorite late night talk show for some comedic relief.
Tribalism and an endless cycle of Political REVENGE: Communicating and collaborating to solve problems has been replaced by a relentless “blame game” and constant jockeying for political advantage that leads to more money and control. Today, if the new electee does not tow the party line, put party over country, he or she risks being primaried out by their own party when up for re-election.
Does the End really justify the Means? That foundational sense of integrity, accountability and fair play, often rooting for the underdog, has morphed into a philosophical imperative where the end goal justifies the means and methods to get there – no matter the truth or ethics. “Doing the right thing” has become the exception, rather than the rule. All of this has led to…
Too few HEROES and ROLE MODELS: “Hero” is a word that has become overused – too often attributed to a sports star, entertainer, or even a victim. When someone has put his or her life at risk in order to save another, that constitutes heroism. Role models do not have to be perfect, or achieve perfection, but their efforts are genuine, often selfless, and certainly with the best of intentions to do right by their fellow humankind. Integrity has been defined as “Doing the right thing when no one else is looking.”
Categories: Food for Thought
America's "Jihad" 
These are my first public words on the events of Jan 6, and in fact, they are my first political comments on social media in, well, years. I read your well-reasoned article and found it a welcome counter to the all too frequent single-factor analyses that have erupted since Wednesday. I think you’ve accurately identified many of the factors that led up to the horrific events we all witnessed on Jan. 6. I wanted to comment on your analysis, and to add one more factor.
MEDIA: I couldn’t agree more that the media has been egregious in stoking the flames of division, concocting narratives that have little relation to objectivity or reality, with the goal not to purvey factual information, but rather to generate, more viewers, listeners or clicks, and to manipulate the perceptions and emotions of its consumers. I also agree it has to stop, but I’m not sure how this can be accomplished. Those most likely to cancel subscriptions and diversify sources, are not the ones that need to do so the most. There is widespread addiction to sensationalism and to the euphoria of news that confirms one’s bias. I have to admit I’m a bit cynical about turning this around anytime soon.
Education: A citizenry well-educated in Civics and History would go a long way to providing perspective and context for current events, providing that the curriculum itself is not tainted by a social justice, politically correct narrative that reconstructs history to support the objectives of the woke. Sadly, there is increasing evidence that thoughtful and honest historical analysis has been infiltrated and replaced with “socially acceptable” messaging within public, and in many cases, private education at all levels. Yeah, I’m a bit cynical about this one too.
Empty political rhetoric and HYPOCRISY: Again, I agree with you. “Unity” has too often come to mean “agree with me and shut up and I won’t attack you.”
Cancel Culture and War on Words: Limitations of free speech are increasing, with calls from many arenas, for “sanctions” on non-politically correct statements. Britain, Australia, and other countries are toying with holding those who make the wrong utterances (e.g. a wrong pronoun), criminally liable. Expect to welcome this to a legislature near you. I shudder at the thought.
America has lost its Sense of Humor. This is so true! My main media source has recently become The Far Side, uncontaminated truth!
Tribalism and an endless cycle of Political REVENGE: No need to add to what you’ve already said.
Does the End really justify the Means? We now live in a culture where violence or threats of violence as a response to perceived offenses has become the norm. Tacit and sometimes explicit approval is given by politicians, the media, pundits, etc. that justifies the perpetration of violent acts against person or property, in name of real or perceived grievance. Individuals are no longer accountable for their choices or actions. They are protected by the cloak of historical or current social “wrongs” that have caused their destructive behavior.
Too few HEROES and ROLE MODELS: Again, I couldn’t agree more. This is a sad reality.
Now for my addition….
Human Nature: Carl Jung said, “Thinking is difficult. That’s why most people judge.” Cognitive psychologists have long identified (by various names) two systems of the brain, an automatic system and a controlled system. The automatic system is the system of intuition and snap judgements. It uses very few cognitive resources and can often serve us very well in performing day-to-day tasks, such as driving a car, brushing our teeth, and clicking “like’ on Facebook. However, the automatic system can also get us into trouble because it is subject to many biases, and because it bypasses the use of reason. Reason resides with the controlled system, and requires focus, analysis, and deliberation. Too often, we are inclined take the easy way out, relegating our decisions and responses to our automatic system. In the face of the social and political crises we now find ourselves in, it is incumbent on every person to resist simple, automatic, gut responses and to employ reasoned analysis of the events that are defining our world and so much of our lives. The genesis of these events are often multi-factored and complex and can only be understood, not simply with individual cognitive effort, but with shared reasoning with others seeking truth.