Magic Blood

Bernie Sanders shared an interesting fact in one of his interviews recently, which was that American regulators censor about 90 percent of what people can actually see and hear through the traditional media or mainstream media. As a result, the information ecosystem in the United States is a narrow one, and this narrow information ecosystem impacts and shapes perceptions about reality on a wide scale and scope. To an extent, corporate control and purchasing of the media determines the narrowness of the information ecosystem in the United States. However, the beliefs, biases, and corruption of the regulators themselves enable corporate control of the media and thus enable the narrowness of the information ecosystem in the United States. Hence, the problem with regulation in America and in the Western world in general is that we do not really look into the biases, corruption, and flaws of the regulators, and we overlook the fact that no one is really qualified and no one has “magic blood” which in turn qualifies and justifies their cancelling or censoring of 90 percent of what can actually be heard and seen through the media. 

As one author wrote: “American history is pocked with ferment, battles, and brawls over what is true. But at this moment, the nation seems to be waging civil war over reality itself.” She added: “It is thrilling to watch, and tough to sit out, because the stakes are so high. But how will it end?” Arguably, we are heading towards the end result or outcome of this war over reality in the United States, and the prime indicator that we are reaching the end result or outcome is the political, social, and economic crises which are slowly emerging and surfacing and in turn require a mere trigger to set off. The political crisis stems from gridlock and polarization, whereas the economic crisis stems from the fact that a shrinking middle class means that the economic system is becoming oligarchic in the sense that more and more wealth is being concentrated in the hands of fewer and fewer people. And as mentioned before, the social crisis comes from the vehement and fierce war over reality which is being waged in the media and on social media. 

In fact, many people are now bypassing traditional media due to the internet and social media. One can find very interesting facts, statistics, and truths on the internet and social media which can better explain the current environment and situation compared to and in contrast to what is found on traditional media. Whereas the traditional media only creates more confusion and cognitive dissonance, certain outlets on the internet and social media can give you solid answers and solid explanations regarding the current environment and current situation. For instance, through one YouTube channel, I found out that White Americans are no longer in the top ten ethnic groups with the highest average incomes in the United States. Indian Americans or Desi-Americans are now the ethnic group with the highest average income in the United States. 

This fact or statistic alone can explain “White Rage” or white resentment towards the establishment, depending on your perspective and viewpoint. But due to the whitewashing of reality through traditional media, no one would really know the source of the rage and resentment, and thus no one would know how to come up with solutions to the problem. In short, narrowing the information ecosystem in America has done more harm than good, and the narrowing of the information ecosystem in America has given a boost to demagoguery and extremism. In turn, regulators in America need to reassess their position when it comes to scaling and sizing the information ecosystem which exists in the United States in such a narrow way.