WTF are You Thinking?

Have Political movements become Cults?

There is an issue that has become so blatantly prevalent in recent years that I can no longer remain quiet about it. So, I invite you to come on a journey with me.

We have arrived at a point in time where it is almost dangerous to discuss politics. People have become so ardent and parochial in their views that they are no longer able to sit with those who have different views and discuss with interest.

Recently I was talking to a dear friend who works in the media. My friend is “onscreen talent”, presenting current affair and general interest type programs. It has been their work for a very long time.

I know which side of politics my friend favors and I am fully ok with that. Personally, I have been a swinging voter my whole life. In recent times, I have felt more aligned with the policies of the conservatives, perhaps mostly due to my inability to accept that climate change a crisis. I believe it is a political issue as opposed to any form of genuine threat.

The media company my friend works for is owned by a publicly traded company whose ownership is distributed among various shareholders, including individual investors and institutional investors. The larger institutional investors have been known to have some influence over the direction the media company takes, including politically.

In recent years, California based media companies have become very left leaning. Recently, Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong, a billionaire physician, entrepreneur, and bioscientist, and owner of the Los Angeles times, replaced his entire editorial board. He stated that the paper had swung too far to the left, and he wanted it to become more centrist.

My interest was piqued in mid 2020 when talking to my friend on Zoom. At that time, my friend knew that Joe Biden, Presidential candidate and a close personal friend of over 30 years, was senile. I was shocked by two things. First that Biden was even being allowed to run for President and second, that my friend, a journalist, was sitting on it and not saying anything.

Then last year, something happened that really rocked my world. I had been supporting Bobby Kennedy’s campaign for President. It was frustrating to see how the Democrats were blocking him at every turn. The irony is that if they had embraced him as one of their own, as he had been for life, and given him a shot at leading the party to the election, he might well have beaten Donald Trump.

The election campaign came up in our conversation and I said the only thing I was really interested in was to see Bobby Kennedy get into a position where he had enough power to clean up the medical, pharmaceutical and food systems. My friend asked why I was supporting a complete lunatic, which is standard fare for left wing media who were attacking him with warped versions of his actual view on vaccinations.

I responded to clarify that many of the allegations against Kennedy were incorrect and if folks would read his books, they would perhaps take a different view.

Then the message came back, “If you are supporting him, we can no longer be friends!”

I was a little dumbfounded by the message. No more discussion. I could have walked away feeling self-righteous, but I was sad, so sad that my friend, a celebrated journalist, had zero curiosity about why I believed in Bobby Kennedy. And my friend knows about my life and celebrates my standing in my profession. And I do not mean to imply that my viewpoint should hold sway, but the absence of curiosity and the willingness to sever a wonderful friendship really rocked my boat.

I wonder what we might learn over 4 years.