Not So Different

From talking to people on both sides of the American political divide, I've learned a few things from each in the past month or so.

1. "The Media" is suppressing the Truth. The Majority agrees with them. You just don't know that because the media gatekeepers are maliciously working for the other side due to an ideological commitment to falsehood, and no amount of public outrage or money can change that.
2. Lies are everywhere. No matter where you look, people believe falsehoods that have been foisted upon them by the very people who are supposed to be looking out for them.
3. The People don't really know what's best for them. They've been conditioned to believe that what is really the truth is actual bad for them, and so they wall themselves off from anything that they disagree with. You have to confront them, and pry open their minds, one at a time.

For some reason, I find it interesting that both sides believe the same arguments. Number 2 is especially interesting, mainly because if you ask someone they'll give you a list of things. I've almost never heard any of them come out of the mainstream media. In fact, the only "widespread lie" that I have heard came from a source far enough out in the political wings that I promptly blew it off.

But what's really interesting is that both sides will tell you this, and it doesn't seem to compute when you tell them that you've heard it all before - from the other side. I guess the idea that they have something in common just isn't their thing.