The Disintegration Of Discourse

Forces we don't understand are wrecking civil discourse and setting Americans on a path towards the abyss.

by Ben Cohen

I’ve been thinking recently about how our discourse has become so hostile, and have come to a slightly unnerving conclusion. In the past I would have meted out the responsibility for the current wreckage in the following order:

1. Republicans

I have long viewed the modern GOP as a neo-fascist insurgency movement responsible for the majority of America’s problems. Abetted by a powerful propaganda machine (Fox News), the Republican party has become the party of nihilism. It seeks only to acquire power and destroy. It is partly a product of the Gingrich revolution in the mid 90’s, but mostly a culmination of a decades long attempt to lock up the political power of an unfathomably rich, and very white minority.

2. The media

The corporate media system in America is a dysfunctional mess that has resulted in the splintering of American society into distinct echo chambers and entirely separate reality bubbles. The for profit model has meant big corporations figure out a demographic they want to target, then bombard them with content they want to see. Republicans get Sean Hannity, liberals get Rachel Maddow. Both sides aren’t the same of course, but NBCUniversal News Group and the Fox Corporation are in the game for money, not the public good.