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69 points tim333 | 2 comments | | HN request time: 0s | source
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thelettere ◴[] No.7329018[source]
Colbert's funny as hell and as likeable as they come. But despite his reputation, he's not exactly an "outside the box" thinker.

He's a deeply religious catholic, is patriotic and apparently believes in the rule of law.

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existencebox ◴[] No.7329027[source]
I think our problems come when we start looking for any more than entertainment in our entertainers.

He attributes the "greatest threat to security" to not voting and not watching political money. I would politely disagree. Our "greatest threat to security" is that our people take their opinions from the mouths of celebrities and politicians, and not through careful consideration of the facts.

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dkrich ◴[] No.7329194[source]
Our "greatest threat to security" is that our people take their opinions from the mouths of celebrities and politicians, and not through careful consideration of the facts.

No they don't, they take their opinions from their parents and friends at an early age, then spend the rest of their lives choosing to listen to celebrities and politicians who confirm those beliefs.

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1. existencebox ◴[] No.7329227[source]
There's certainly some truth in that; the environment someone is brought up in during their most plastic developmental period sets the tone for their approach.

This essentially reduces the problem down however, saying that the twisted narratives of media are resultant of a system where early education teaches you to simply accept that message. (I speak in what would be hyperbole in most cases for the situation you suggest, where the parents and friends advocate taking narratives "as faith"), and at that point it's a bit of a chicken and egg problem.

The parents and friends lived in a system that perpetuated their narratives, so they communicate this to their children, to create a new generation of etc.

So where do you break the cycle? I'm not going to be sticking my nose into someone else's parenting, as much as I think it might do them good. Maybe I should, but I haven't been convinced yet. At this point the best approach I've come up with is just trying to _talk_ to more people. Prompt them to think; and be communicative.

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2. dkrich ◴[] No.7343517[source]
I don't know that there is a great way to break the cycle, which is why MSNBC and Fox News have very different but fiercely loyal audiences. Certainly there are exceptions- I've had certain issues that I've changed my mind about after hearing some very convincing arguments (opposition to the death penalty is one example), but most people come to certain conclusions about hot-button issues and then have a very difficult time changing course because they want to convince the other person why they are wrong before listening to the other person first. I think a certain amount of that is simply human nature.