A Gallup poll from 2024 found that 80% of Americans believe we are divided on the most important values — a record high since polling began in the early 90s.
While that figure is concerning, what’s more concerning is that the pollsters admitted that “public skepticism about national unity isn’t new.”
While this poll is somewhat old, it is still relevant. But, there is a crucial question we still need to ask about today’s political climate: What is causing our division? Going further: is it natural or unnatural?
We find our country in a massive and unnatural divide because of the rampant abuses and falsehoods spread by the fourth estate: the media. Irresponsible, untrusted and biased reporting has led to a crisis that has only stimulated violence against conservatives.
It is not a surprise for conservatives that tensions have escalated into violence against them. We’re called fascists, authoritarians and “far-right,” at every turn. If you think it’s okay, you should ask Erica Kirk, Charlie Kirk’s widow, about how these phrases have contributed to the hurt that her family is going through.
It is more than clear that unhinged bias is a problem. It even comes from the top, as the Biden administration pressured Meta to censor some content related to COVID-19.
However, the most interesting thing to us is that Thomas Jefferson saw the root of all these problems hundreds of years before we began to live through this. Jefferson once said, “The man who never looks into a newspaper is better informed than he who reads them; inasmuch as he who knows nothing is nearer to truth than he whose mind is filled with falsehoods & errors.”
This is the overarching problem: People believe anything and everything. What’s worse is that what people believe to be “facts” are actually targeted ploys meant to discredit conservatives.Some examples are the Hunter Biden laptop, the Russia collusion hoax, the “mostly peaceful protests,” the Jussie Smollett “story,” the downplaying of crime statistics, the intentional coverup of the political affiliations of high-profile criminals and much more.However, the biggest lie that the media has sold is the cover-up of former President Joe Biden’s doddering mental acuity.
On that issue alone, it proves that when the facts are put on a stage — or a debate stage, in Biden’s case — the media’s lies crumble.
Ultimately, there is another big story that demonstrates the media’s spectacle: Jan. 6.
To be clear before you read on, it is our club’s position that defending illegal actions, the murder of Ashli Babbit or anything else that has come from that day is just plainly wrong. Full stop.
Despite the fact that President Donald Trump urged the crowd to “peacefully and patriotically make their voices heard,” things went chaotically wrong and need to be investigated. From the FBI agents in plain clothing, to the questionable service of “justice” to many who were indicted and jailed, to Nancy Pelosi acknowledging fault for the lack of preparation of the national guard on Jan. 6, there is a lot to talk about that has been conveniently neglected by the media.
What we’re seeing is a trend where topics are being misrepresented or intentionally morphed as a means to endorse and justify violence against conservatives.
It’s plainly unfair that every conservative has been roped into being called an insurrectionist because of the careless actions of some.
As it is, there has been an alarming amount of political violence against conservatives recently. The two attempted assassinations of Trump, Kirk’s recent assassination and the attempted assassination of Representative Steve Scalise are just some of the examples of the most high-profile victims.
On the issue of Kirk, he lost his life due to a radicalized left-wing individual who took out his anger in the most violent form, rather than practicing civil discourse. In a way, Kirk’s assassin proved himself wrong and proved us right. But it doesn’t even stop there, as governmental agencies and officials are also being targeted.
For example, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents have seen a 1,000% increase in targeted actions against them, and now are being doxxed. Because of the media’s rhetoric, we have seen videos where officers are assaulted, politicians have flaunted their “authority” and attempted to forcefully enter federal offices and even a recent shooting at a Dallas ICE facility. In that last case, the perpetrator’s motive was to kill ICE agents. Instead, he killed three detainees. The fact is that violence is fostered and grown by how unchecked “journalists” have made claims that compare conservatives to Nazis and fascists, ICE to the Gestapo and everyday Republicans to authoritarians. Maybe these journalists should take a trip to communist China to see what real authoritarianism looks like.
What all of this supports is that we are in a crisis of confidence. More accurately: We are in a crisis of confidence in one another.
Despite how it seems that this trend is irreversible, we need to come together as a country. It’s the only way that our problems can be solved. There used to be a time when we could get a cup of coffee with our neighbor despite political differences.
Most importantly, we need to come together as a university community. This is something our club has already taken a swing at through our launching of the Petition for a Framework For Civility.
The best step to take right now is to take a step back and listen to what your neighbor has to say or offer. We’re in this together, and divided we’ll fall.
Jayson McArdle, GSB ‘29, is a finance major from West Orange, New Jersey.
