Media polarization creates a moral worldview that compels people to align with one side and fuels political tension.

“There are uh family members of mine that only watch MS Now and there are family members of mine that only watch Fox News and I watch both. And so then I see, you know, when I turn on MS Now, the only thing they're talking about is going to be in one direction. I turn Fox News, the only thing they're”

Political polarization is being intensified by legacy media and an inability to have open, honest conversations about shared grievances.

“I sensed some growing discontent or more of a racial divide in America than I'd experienced in my lifetime, and it seemed to be egged on by legacy media.”

Luke argues that political polarization is exacerbated by the existence of media ecosystems that allow partisans to avoid facts and justify extremist behaviors through a sense of infinite victimhood.

“since they've imagined that they've suffered infinitely that gives them the moral justification to persecute infinitely they can be as mean as they want as cruel as they want”

Ryan believes that political polarization is being intentionally exacerbated to manipulate the electorate.

“And so, you know, I think I think more people are starting to look past that. I think the race card was overplayed a lot in my opinion and I think a lot of people are seeing that and realize maybe it wasn't as bad as everybody made it out to be”

Political division serves the interests of the elite by distracting citizens from their shared struggle and preventing them from uniting against the current system.

“They want us divided. They want us focused on petty [ __ ] like how I look and all that [ __ ] because um it keeps us divided and it distracts us from actually coming together as normal people.”

Mary Lou maintains that despite political disagreements and her son's and daughter's critical views, the family remains committed to discussing these issues.

“And we are very loyal people in our family. So, here we are four years later.”

A core necessity for improving society is accepting that people hold different views and being able to discuss those views humanely.

“that has to be like one of the the core tenants of making society better is accepting that people have different views than you, being able to talk to them about those views, and still see that they are human beings.”

She argues against closing herself off to individuals who hold different political beliefs if those individuals demonstrate kindness at their core.

“I don't close the door to people with opposing views. I don't close the door to people just because they vote for someone else. I think I like to hang out with and associate with people who like at their very [ __ ] core are rooted in kindness and empathy and treating people nicely.”

Bridging political divides requires individuals to move past confirmation bias and focus on the common ground and shared goals that exist between people before addressing disagreements.

“I think if we can get people to start talking again, if we can get people to realize we all want some of the really big same things. Look, everybody wants a healthy America. We all want our children to grow up healthy and happy.”

A lack of decency in political culture makes it difficult for people with different views to see each other's humanity.

“It's not just being uncivil. It shows that in our country we're no longer to see the humanity in any way of people who have any different view.”