Life Between 0 and 1

I watched the “news” this past weekend for the first time in a long time. I’ve exclusively been getting news from 3-4 online sources that I’ve found to be truth leaning and have demonstrated that they’re not controlled by standard mainstream media channels. Sitting there and watching the 30 minute show (actually 17 minutes if you take out the commercials), I was struck with an overwhelming feeling of disgust and anger. At the end of the half hour, I had a disturbingly clear picture of WHY people don’t believe the truth even when there is overwhelming evidence to the contrary right in front of them. Americans have been conditioned to believe that anything worth reporting on the news is important, and anything that doesn’t make the cut isn’t worth their time. I’ve already realized that 17 minutes of news is ridiculously inadequate. The manipulation has been so gradual, so subtle, that to think that all mainstream media has been in on this manipulation of the American people is literally a slap in the face of our collective intelligence.

After watching Rigged 2016 recently, I fully understand the total and complete impact of misinformation being shoveled at us through massaged and softened “news” from mainstream media. Most of who I know well get their news from sources that do not include newspapers, local news, or American world news (if you can call it that). From my own observation, which isn’t anywhere near scientific, it would appear that around 45-ish is a divide between television/newspaper (older) and online sources (younger). I understand the reason for this, especially when reading sites like CounterPunch, Wikileaks, and the such. Americans are not stupid, and quite the opposite, they are starting to wake up and realize that their parents and grandparents method of information isn’t reliable. The Internet has allowed for unfiltered and near real-time reporting of incidents that have no chance of being altered before delivery. The documentary explained that the establishment has been backed into a corner where their manipulation has been exposed and people are starting to reject their mainstream thinking. While I’m disappointed that this didn’t happen this year, I can sure as bet my life that 2020 is going to be a monumental and history making election year provided that, at the very least, Libertarians obtain 5% or more of the popular vote. My hope is that the Libertarian and Green party manage to get at least 5% of the popular vote. That would set the stage for Democrats, Republicans, Libertarians, and Greens on the debate stage. A figurative middle finger to the two-party system indeed!

One important lesson I’ve learned recently is that you can’t force someone to change their opinion no matter what evidence you present to them. A Clinton fan will be a fan no matter what they know to be true or not. There is a belief that anything negative is viewed as conspirator rhetoric done on purpose to attack their credibility or character. My own view has been changed and I see her for what she is, a manipulative war-loving elitist that will do everything she can to remain in power (and wealthy). The fact that Trump has no political experience isn’t much better and is as much a part of the corrupt system as Clinton, however he is seeking more power where Clinton is seeking to keep her current power. We are on the verge of an awakening in this country that is causing more and more Americans to question the “business as usual” politics and economics of the last 50 years. Americans are tired, frustrated, and angry of having to struggle every day just to make ends meet. Content released by Wikileaks has been enough to put doubt into the minds of a lot of people around the world. It is no longer accepted that politicians are looking out for our best interests, quite the opposite, they’re looking out for their own interests. I’m angry that we, as a people, have allowed this to take place, but I can accept why it’s happened in the first place. At no point in our history have we had so much information available to us through the Internet, and the failure of the political systems in place to recognize this is our chance to actually make a REAL difference in the course of our country.

Our actions this year and over the next four years are crucial so as to break the stranglehold of the two-party system in our country. Americans are not dumb, despite what Clinton and Trump have said through leaked emails and transcripts. Americans are waking up and have started to take a position that is polarized AGAINST what the Democrats and Republicans have established in the last 50 years. All the racial tensions, all the anger, all the frustration is a symptom of the problem: a government that is too big and corrupt to get out of their own way. I’m a believer that we can affect the change necessary to start making things better. That starts with the recognition that third parties are not just “footnotes” or “afterthoughts”. Third parties are, after this year, a viable alternative to the deplorable two-party system we’ve had shoved down our throats. A really good metaphor from the Rigged 2016 documentary that truly resonated with me: “The political parties are like car manufacturers. People no longer buy Fords or GMs because their parents did. People are making their own choices now.” That resonated with me because my Dad is voting for Trump (because he’s not Clinton) and my Mom is voting for Clinton (because she’s not Trump). I think there is a better choice and I’m choosing to vote third-party. Mainstream media can go to hell, I’m aware of your game, and I will no longer accept your brand of thinking.