How did we get here?

After November 8, 2016, many have been asking “How did we get here?” Some, me included, were wondering what was happening to American society these last 20 years or more. It was clear to me that if the election had gone the other way we would still have to deal with these forces even stronger in 2020.

What interests me about the tectonic shift of this election are the societal/sociological aspects. Those are, at least initially, what I want to explore in the blog. There are so very many aspects to it. One aspect is the influence of the media and by that I primarily mean television and then the internet.

For decades I have been a fan of the movie “Network”, the academy award winning film about how the news arm of a broadcast network got assimilated by the entertainment arm. Not only was it a greatly enjoyable movie but, in 1976, it was clearly prophetic.

CNN, created in 1980 broke the monopoly of the “Big 3” (CBS, NBC, & ABC) while starting the proliferation of 24 hour news programs.