Quick Thoughts on Debate Prep

You’re bringing fact checking to a culture war.

It’s tempting to try and correct the debate. Is what a candidate saying true? Does it contradict something they said earlier? While I think it matters to point out that one of the candidates is a much bigger liar than the other, this election is a culture war. I question that anyone is going to be swayed by fact checking. It’s more important to convince people that your worldview is more compelling than the other side.

People are too busy calling Trump a moron to engage with his supporters.

Many of them are supporting with reservations. Although my instinct is to call Trump a moron, I hesitate to really lean into that. Many people in this country have real grievances, and they feel like voting for Trump is their only option. They know that he is probably bad for the country, but they want to be heard. It is important to let people know that they can be heard, without burning everything down.

 

Fighting Polarization
The biggest success of any media organization right now would be to try and lessen the polarization in our country right now. I give props to, of all people, Glenn Beck for listening to Black Lives Matter organizers and bringing them on his show. He saw that even though he disagreed with many of their political views, they have a lot in common with his viewers. He wanted to highlight that similarity, and was pilloried for doing so.

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