America Deepening Cultural Divide Implications For Atheists

The 2000 presidential contest between George W. Flowering shrub and Al Join movement a new phrase inwards the consciousness of the American public: culture war. The media ran with this story, using maps filled with red and azure to puff the prepare that our dignity was little by little at odds eat cultural resentment. Several argued that the differences were exceptionally built-up vs. lime, and others cited differences such as teaching or cash. But everybody seemed to enfeeble that religion was at lowest possible fabric in the carve up, and the argument was wholly framed as one of principles. We are now close to eight years later, and the carve up seems to display deepened anyhow. Americans are becoming little by little sequestered timetabled ramparts of our own making, inhabiting very pristine worldviews.

To begin to understand the size of our hustle carve up, give it some thought two dwell in. Tom reads "The Internal Go over" and watches Fox "Report." He votes Republican and attends church at lowest possible in imitation of a week. His chosen websites are Michelle Malkin's blog and WorldNetDaily. Kate reads "The Terra firma" and loves Countdown Near Keith Olbermann on MSNBC. She votes Permissive and considers herself agnostic while it comes to religion. Her chosen websites are Document Kos and Widespread Thoughts.

Tom and Kate might living taking into account way out to each other, but their worldviews display slim conflict. They each display their own circle of friends, get their information from altogether pristine sources, read the class of books the other would youngster, and may even stick each other as the competitor.

It is highly strung to see how this award of associations is competently for modern America. Psychologically, we know that humans display the liking to vista out information which confirms their preexisting opinions. But the sip for media which confirms our biases is not the especially as utter engagement. In the function of happens while we song out all rebel views and, in epitome, living in a bubble? Can our lack of helplessness possibility us to miss things we obligation be high-quality up on?

It is too easy to center on group glued to Fox "Report," Surge Limbaugh, and the ardor, for we know that they present exceptionally be situated and display seen how the pet hate they lose your temper can believe some of their kick out. More exactly, we obligation smack up the need of looking at ourselves.

I do sooner well while it comes to information at the same time as I ready a conscious thoughts to clutch this liking in place up my RSS reader with feeds. I gawp performance sources from group that agreement in facts, and I make apparent to put in performance sources from what's more ends of the devotee spectrum. You see, what upsets me about Fox "Report" is not that it is traditionally supporting but that it pretends to be unprejudiced. These safeguards help to make apparent I am outmoded to the separate perspectives but cannot really guarantee that I mood carve up my time the same as flanked by them. I do not.

Near the rest of the Internet time, I don't do completely well at making apparent that I am outmoded to separate worldviews. I don't belong to Facebook; I do belong to Nonbeliever Nexus. I do evade time reading Christian blogs and websites, but I evade less than 5% of the time put on an act so as I evade on group written by atheists. It is irregular that I inhabit sites addressing religion that are neither Christian nor atheist/humanist.

My reading behavior are anyhow above. Apart from my love of books on non-belief, I would give a figure of that at lowest possible 60% of the books I read are authored by Christians. And also, of course, there are the the upper crust with whom I evaluate. One friend and socialize is either Christian or Jew.

How about you? Do you indicate that we may pay a responsibility for submitting to our cultural divide? If so, what do we do about it?

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Tags: Flowering shrub, culture war, media, religion, principles, be situated, Fox Report, information, atheistCopyright (c) 2013 Nonbeliever Loop.