In a media environment where folks can choose from hundreds of sources, sociologists tell us we normally chose those which don’t cause us a lot of dissonance. The result is that we tend to stay in a sort of “bubble of truth” and might miss some of the perspectives that we should acknowledge if we are going to make any progress.
One exception, on rare occasions, is talk radio. The honest “talkers” sometimes deliberately let divergent views through their call screeners. (Thom Hartmann is admirable in this regard.) Sometimes they come through accidentally, as well, and you can almost hear the “talker” do a double take realizing he/she is being scammed. Sometimes they don’t realize it at all, and the listener has to pick it up.
That’s where I was Thursday. I had two “aha” moments listening to Tony Trupiano of Detroit, who was doing a creditable job subbing for Ed Schultz during the holiday break. They provided some real insight into some of the Tea Party objection to ACA, and why seemingly needy lower middle class folks talk about voting against what appears on the surface to be their own self-interest. I’ll explain after that orange squiggle.
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