It really frightens me how many people see the world so strongly through a super specific political lens that they have lost the ability to think for themselves. Everything is driven by that ever so small worldview, and anything counter to that must be squashed. I was following a mental health announcement closely last week and saw people far left freaking out about big pharma conspiracies and people far right freaking out about being locked up and having their guns and children taken away… over a simple mental health screening recommendation for pregnant women that was well reasoned and completely evidence based. It was clear that nobody voicing these views on either side had actually, you know, read the recommendation.

I suspect that in addition to the issues with media, the soundbite culture we live is equally responsible. We communicate big ideas in 140 characters, read the headline but not the story, and increasingly rely on flying by one of these snippets in a feed somewhere… a snippet that might not be from a credible source at all in a feed that is already tailored to support the small worldview we uphold… as a primary news source. Until we can get back to real conversation, The Dumb will persist.