I do miss how united we were. How in that moment, we felt bound together under a single identity. People from rural areas didn’t think twice about coming to the aid of their urban cousins even though the lifestyles between the two could not be any more different. We pushed our differences aside and as a nation, the worst brought out our best.
David .. very well said .. when I moved here from the UK aim the 80s the most amazing thing to me was the ready acceptance of me by almost everybody I met.. after the racism I experienced growing up in London. The national front with their skinheads were very active and I would constantly here the words “go back home Paki” … but in America . I was just another guy trying to live life and make a living. I did encounter some prejudice .. but overall everyone I met was a proud American. I got my citizenship and joined the proud Americans. I don’t recognize this country at the moment. It’s not the American I moved to and grew to love. I think social media has had a major impact in creating this chasm. I have to lay blame at the feet of the algorithm creators who have put profit and personal gain over the care for the society they are foisting their social media algorithms on. These algorithms have enabled, emboldened and amplified fringe voices that were always there, but not noticed. The amount of hate speech these social media networks enable and then are amplified via algorithms designed to serve us “relevant content” is a major cause and those who invent and exploit these are savvy users to continue fostering this discord. I would never ever have imagined some of the things that have happened in the past year .. January 6 comes to mind most specifically. Yesterday was a sad reminder of what happened 20 years ago and I do yearn for the day when Americans would come together and be Americans again. Thank you for posting your thoughts.. we shared that day 20 years ago and I am glad you and I are able to continue our conversations and friendship today.
David .. very well said .. when I moved here from the UK aim the 80s the most amazing thing to me was the ready acceptance of me by almost everybody I met.. after the racism I experienced growing up in London. The national front with their skinheads were very active and I would constantly here the words “go back home Paki” … but in America . I was just another guy trying to live life and make a living. I did encounter some prejudice .. but overall everyone I met was a proud American. I got my citizenship and joined the proud Americans. I don’t recognize this country at the moment. It’s not the American I moved to and grew to love. I think social media has had a major impact in creating this chasm. I have to lay blame at the feet of the algorithm creators who have put profit and personal gain over the care for the society they are foisting their social media algorithms on. These algorithms have enabled, emboldened and amplified fringe voices that were always there, but not noticed. The amount of hate speech these social media networks enable and then are amplified via algorithms designed to serve us “relevant content” is a major cause and those who invent and exploit these are savvy users to continue fostering this discord. I would never ever have imagined some of the things that have happened in the past year .. January 6 comes to mind most specifically. Yesterday was a sad reminder of what happened 20 years ago and I do yearn for the day when Americans would come together and be Americans again. Thank you for posting your thoughts.. we shared that day 20 years ago and I am glad you and I are able to continue our conversations and friendship today.