Americans value independent thinking. Competition. Healthy debate. A marketplace of ideas.
Or do we?
If social media is a gauge of what we cherish, I’d say the opposite is true.
These past few years, I’ve watched friends cut ties with family members because they subscribe to different political beliefs.
I’ve seen candidates and elected officials block constituents on Twitter and Facebook for the crime of expressing a different viewpoint.
More and more, politicians are shunning town halls and tough questions, and when they’re called out for falsehoods or inaccuracies, they scream “fake news” in an attempt to discredit anything unflattering.
Even within the two political parties, it seems it’s more difficult than ever for people to have dissenting views about, well, anything.
Our politics are toxic, and doing things the same way while expecting different outcomes is an exercise in foolishness. We need to reform our elections.
I don’t believe we’ll ever fully detoxify the system until we remove the biggest pollutant: money.
