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The Last Generation that has a say |
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> | The Last Generation That Has a Say |
| | -- By BriannaCummings - 09 Dec 2015
“We're fickle, stupid beings with poor memories and a great gift for self-destruction.”
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< | Suzanne Collins, Mockingjay |
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> | -Suzanne Collins, Mockingjay |
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“Donald Trump is like if a comments section ran for office” |
| | -Unknown
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< | Introduction |
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| | This election cycle has been particularly troubling for me. I consider myself to be a well-informed voter; I read the paper, watch the news and see what the net has to say most days and even vote in mid-term elections. In doing so I find myself wondering; “were people were always this crazy?” or “is this a new kind of craziness?” I see the comparisons of Donald Trump’s campaign to that of Adolf Hitler and reflect on the sordid history and current predicament of my own people in the country and tell myself no there’s always been pervasive evil in the world. I tell myself that evil has always found a way to garner power and support. But the millennial in me still wonders would think have been the same in the past if the masses had access to information in the ways the current generation does?
24 Hour Media Cycle
Having constant access to news is both a blessing and a curse, we have the tools to be the most informed and knowledgeable generation at the least cost in modern history. The world-wide use of personal computer connected to the web has put the world at our finger tips, after all there is nothing Google doesn’t already know anymore. This is a blessing many of us (millennials that never lived in a world without internet) constantly take for granted. The use of personal computers connected to the web also allows independent journalism and blogging to occur without publication costs. This is key for the transmission of information needed for a number of revolutions currently underway. It is also important in the era of corporate sponsored news stations that often pick and choose what stories get coverage and what perspectives are presented. This is a curse, it is exceptionally easy to completely block out any media coverage that does not agree with our beliefs and views. Major “news” outlets such as Fox News, CNN and MSNBC can all cover the same event with such bias that it is hard to recognize the report are for the same event. Fox News has gone so far to the right that a commentator has to refer to the President of the United States as a pussy to be suspended from the air (only for two weeks though). |
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Subsection B
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> | Being so ‘tuned in’ has made following this election nearly unbearable and were still eleven months away from Election Day. A majority of the candidates for president this cycle are particularly disturbing and frankly dangerous with their words. The twenty-four hour media cycle allows us to listen, share and retweet every insane thing that Trump utters of types. This rhetoric is exceptionally dangerous given that even when making objectively false statements Trump and Co. double down and claim to be the victims of the liberal media when called out by fact-checkers. |
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> | Trump is Just the Tip of the Iceberg
Many dismiss Trump as ‘crazy’, ‘racist’, ‘sexist’ and unfit to run for office as his antics continue. However, he maintains a strong following and continues to rise in the polls, with each sound bite more outrageous than the next, while liberals and moderates anxiously wait for the moment when even his supports decide he’s gone too far. (I’m losing hope that this day will ever come). Without a doubt Carson, Cruz, Rubio, Fiorina and Huckabee have said things equally outlandish and unsupported by facts as Trump with Christie, Graham and Paul close behind. It is truly concerning with Jeb!Bush and John Kasich have become the ‘voice of reason’. The democrats have been having a fairly uneventful primary and have essentially become the party of boring. Hillary has let her hawkish side show a number of times this fall but not many have noticed or got too caught up in the latest GOP snippet to remember. |
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> | The latest slew of ignorance from presidential candidates surrounds Syrian refugees and Muslims more broadly. After last month’s attacks on Beirut, Lebanon and Paris, France several Republican presidential candidates and governors called for on the U.S. to stop granting Syrians refugee status. Others just wanted to stop granting refuge to Muslim Syrians and would allow Christian Syrians to seek refuge here. Some governors went as far as claiming they would not accept Syrian refugees in their state, which is laughable because they have literally no standing or authority to deny placement of refugees in their state. But, this is no laughing matter as the general public (non-law folk) is most likely unaware of this fact. Allowing such Islamophobia rhetoric to flood the media (TV, digital and print) is dangerous to say the least. |
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> | Hate Speech vs. Free Speech
The Hate Speech readings made me reflect on the false dichotomy of hate speech vs. free speech that has been created in the United States. Countries around the world manage to have free speech while still punishing hate speech (See Canada), but the U.S. continues to struggle with this. The U.S. Constitution guarantees freedom of speech and expression but there have been limits put on free speech in our countries history. For instance it is well known that you cannot scream “FIRE” in a crowded movie theater when there is not a fire. I think the same principle should apply to political candidates, especially those running for President (the highest office in the land). Presidential candidates should not have free reign to incite fear and violence by spewing hate speech while hiding behind free speech. This is exactly what they are doing by advocating religious tests for entrance into the United States and calling for open discrimination of Muslims and those perceived to be Muslim. |
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> | Our Last Chance
If we as Americans allow this propaganda to take hold of our government and political process we are doomed to repeat the mistakes of Germany during World War II. I am not sure if the U.S. or the world will be able to recover from another Holocaust in the age of nuclear, biological weapons and large-scale complex terrorist organizations such as ISIS/ISIL. This generation must take our place in history and ensure that this does not happen on our watch. |
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