When I was younger I listened to short wave broadcasts. Hundreds of countries had external services. The Voice of America for the USA, The BBC for the UK, NHK from Tokyo. There was also Radio Moscow. The broadcasts were the national identity and a country’s voice sent out to the world. These days Satellite TV does much of this for the nations that can afford to rent a transponder. The VOA had truth and Radio Moscow had propaganda.

The line between propaganda and “truth” is self defined. Objectively there is no line. But what I remember more than the content of the broadcasts was the reaction people had….”you listen to Radio Moscow!”. The inference being, “you must be a communist!” or if I wasn’t I soon would be just because I was listening. The generation coming up now has no idea how much the “red” scare affected the US society in the 50’s.

This is what polarization looks like. This is why a conservative can’t read the New York Times, no…he can’t even have a copy in his house. If Joan Baez starts singing on an oldies FM station…..he’s got the wrong FM channel and better change it quick before the neighbors hear.

It is the very worst thing for a Democratic society. The three monkeys, hear no opposing ideas, see no opposing ideas, and never speak well of other political positions. The closed mind as some ideological virtue. Then one day a pied piper comes along and the milling multitude who hear only one voice fall in and follow the tune. Human nature writ large, leads to problems, or so history would suggest.