Published: Nov. 27, 2018, 10 p.m.

b'

Over Thanksgiving weekend, I stopped watching news, checking Twitter, and binging political podcasts- which I\'m pretty sure upped my IQ by a solid 20 points. I didn\'t even spend extra time reading, writing, or listening to classical music. I just decluttered my mind for a few days and feel so much clearer now.

\\n

I think there is a ripple from how the news makes us feel individually to the ills we see at a national level in America today.

\\n

"If people in the media cannot decide whether they are in the business of reporting news or manufacturing propaganda, it is all the more important that the public understand that difference, and choose their news sources accordingly."
\\n-Thomas Sowell
\\n

\\n

Individual: I feel my blood pressure spike when watching main stream outlets, even if it\'s people I agree with, because that\'s what it\'s intended to do. That\'s not healthy. I switched more to podcasts because the format is less conducive to the short segments of outrage that the MSM does to maintain viewership, but it\'s still so often top of mind. It\'s important to be aware of the news around the world, but watching the news is not necessarily the best thing.

\\n

Family & Friends: Not only does politics divide family and friends now, but the news outlet you watch does. The siloing of ideas to ideology is dangerous, but to present one as news is utterly, and purposefully, destructive. This divides people along fanatical lines rather than allowing people who should love each other to unite despite these issues.

\\n

Community: What happens to families and friends occurs in communities as well as the people segregate by ideology. This makes it hard to be a minority viewpoint in any place, so people become more entrenched, which reinforces the ideology and pushes out any disagreeing viewpoint.

\\n

America: Now, since we have nowhere to turn in our personal lives- family, friends, community- we turn to the national politics, social media, or mainstream outlets to find a tribe. Instead of falling into a tribe that has disagreements, scuffles, and other struggles, we find ourselves in a tribe based on an ideology shared by people online or on TV that we will never meet.

\\n

Join the Conversation of Our Generation!!!

\\n

Subscribe to The Conversation of Our Generation\'s Podcast now on iTunes!!

\\n

Want to learn more, but don\'t know what to read? Check out my Amazon Affiliate Page, and use those links to shop for books to help you learn and grow!

\\n

Subscribe to our email list for our Recommended Reading, reviews on books and other content that can grow your store of knowledge. New products will be coming soon, exclusively for subscribers.

\\n

If you would like to join me in the Conversation of Our Generation, follow me on Twitter @ConOfOurGen, Facebook Conversation of Our Generation Facebook Page and SteemIt @jamell

\\n

Also, you can find me on YouTube Conversation of Our Generation YouTube Channel.

\\n

I am just trying to join the Conversation of Our Generation. Let\\u2019s get the dialogue going with comments, shares, questions- just say something!

\\n\\n--- \\n\\nSend in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/conofourgen/message\\nSupport this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/conofourgen/support'