So much has changed in our society and in our culture in the recent past. Not only in America but all over the world. Invariably, somewhere in the timeline of these changes one will find the internet as a catalyst, be it good or bad. Arguably, it has been claimed that Donald Trump's election victory hinged on alternative sources of news as compared to the 2016 election. It's unfortunate, but there are masses of people who no longer depend on mainstream media as a reliable source of news. I can't speak for other countries, though I suspect they may have the same problem, but in America major television networks and major news publications are no longer reliable or reputable. They have allowed their bias and narrow-minded political bents to corrupt their responsibility for reporting the news. And they refuse to recognize and accept the clear and distinct signals coming from the American people. Evidently, economic sustainability is not an issue for them. Interestingly, the alternative news sources that are replacing them and have become reliable sources for so many would have been considered 'crazy' a mere ten years ago. Podcasts and social media.
Trump's son Barron, suggested to his father that he should engage with the likes of Joe Rogan, Dan Bongino, Sean Hannity, Brian Kilmeade, Lex Fridman, Charlemagne, and others who invited him to interview on their podcast. Barron knew the audiences for these media sources. They were likely unfamiliar to the elder Trump as they likely are to most of the Boomer generation. But 'the Donald' heeded the advice and the payoff was resounding victory. Massive numbers of younger generations tune in to podcasts and various other social media outlets for their news sources. In all honesty, with some serious reflection, it's difficult to find fault with this logic. We Boomers (yes, admittedly, I'm a Boomer...) grew up reading a newspaper or news magazine soaking up some journalists' interpretation of an interview or public statements made by a politician. On a podcast interview you can hear the question from the host and the answer from the interviewee. The horse's mouth, well, the donkey or the elephant as the case may be. Nothing lost in the interpretation. Plus, it also exhibits the authenticity of the interviewee. If they have the Kahunas to get on the air and publicly state what they think or how they feel or that they will do, it's more convincing. You, the listener heard it from them. No paraphrasing by a journalist. No disrespect to any respectable and honest journalist from those times and there were some very good ones. I've no doubt that they feel dismayed by the disreputable, lying bastards getting so much attention in recent times, letting their political bents get in the way of good judgment and honest reporting.
Did these alternative news sources make a difference in the outcome? Well, Trump is the president-elect, right?... You tell me. However, every topic seems to have a big 'but', right? Perhaps alternative news sources did facilitate the prevalence of the will of the majority in the case of the presidential election. But they also have the power to make known the mindset of the twisted and uninformed and radical minds. Luigi Mangione recently murdered in cold blood Brian Thompson, the CEO of United Healthcare on the streets of Manhattan. Reportedly, based on a manifesto in his possession his transgression was a result of his grievance related to the actions of the health insurance industry. So, his demented little mind decided that the 'parasites' had it coming. They needed to be stopped. This was a scion of a wealthy family, not a poor person who had a close relative die as a result of the denial of a claim that would have saved a life. The Internet and social media in this case has exposed a dark side of American society. And they are not few in number. Many, and I use the term loosely, have sounded off that Luigi is a credible spokesman for those aggrieved by the insurance industry. A hero who took action. That according to some twisted worldview did what needed to be done. And those adorers are not limited to the unknown masses. A Massachusetts senator, Elizabeth Warren alluded in a public statement that "the public can only be pushed so far...". As if there were some justification to Luigi's heinous actions. There are many more, known and unknown.
The American constitution and I know there are many other cultures around the world whose societies are based on the value of life and liberty that will always condone the senseless and unlawful taking of human life, political ideologies be damned. But this wonderful widget of modern life known as the World Wide Web makes it possible for those who do not value human life or who disagree with a corporation's behavior to conduct their self-sanctioned executions to right a perceived wrong and to publish their thoughts. Evidently, the rule of law and human decency haven't met the internet, yet...
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