The only thing liberals and conservatives can agree on is the fact that they cannot agree on anything.
Many people point to “fake news” as the cause of this issue. However, no one is forced to watch a certain news network, but they tend to watch things that align with their ideologies.
People are afraid to challenge their own views. The real reason for the political divide is due to closed-mindedness.
Americans choose what media they consume, they choose the friends they have, they choose the information they take in. The decisions they make are a mere reflection of a person’s beliefs.
The driving factor for this is confirmation bias, or the idea that people listen to things they want to hear and disregard or avoid information that conflicts with their views.
This is why Fox News, a right leaning source, has a 93% conservative audience as opposed to a 6% liberal audience, according to a Pew Research study.
Fox News is a business and they want to make money. They push the conservative ideology because no other cable network does so. This partisan business model has proven to be successful.
Fox has been the most watched cable news network for the last seven years, absolutely crushing second place MSNBC, which is also partisan.
Fox and MSNBC are just taking advantage of our intolerance and close-mindedness. Someone may believe Fox spews propaganda without actually taking the time to watch the network.
People are scared to have our beliefs challenged, but it is a necessity for the public to grow as a society.
Think about the state of America 60 years ago. If activists like Martin Luther King never tested societal standards, America would be in a much different place today. People cannot operate like robots, they have to discover their own views and not stick to the status quo.
Take a look at your immediate friend group. Most of your friends probably share your moral and political beliefs. You have the freedom to pick our friends, but you tend to choose friends that agree with you.
Social media has a similar effect. There is an algorithm on social media sites that gives the user pictures and videos that they are more likely to look at for an extended period of time. A liberal’s page is more likely to be filled with left-wing content.
Everything a person sees on social media aligns with their political leanings.
Without the need to prove political views, the divide between liberals and conservatives will continue to grow. Not all conservatives are racist rednecks and not all liberals are intolerant snowflakes. If people do not converse with the otherside, those stereotypes will stick.
The era of intolerance will be the downfall of the United States. Media bias and social media may play a role, but change can only happen if people challenge their own views and beliefs.
People need to listen to counter arguments and get news from outlets that they do not normally use. Having an open mind is the first step to bridging the divide in America.