Republicans and Democrats are living in 2 different Americas

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times; it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of partisan hackery; it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of misinformation; it was the season of light, it was the season of bleak; it was the spring of joy, it was the winter of despair; we had everything before us, we had nothing before us; we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way…

OK, that’s not exactly how “A Tale of Two Cities”’ opens, but it’s close enough. Besides, I’m just making a point — I’ve never even read the book. But I do know that, as an avid consumer of news, Americans are living in two completely different worlds when it comes to how the 2024 election is shaping up.

It doesn’t matter who you’re for, if you’re invested emotionally in the outcome of the presidential race, control of the Senate or House, whatever, you can find exactly what you want to hear on cable news. This election cycle is like modern Christianity in that you can find a denomination that will reinforce whatever it is you want to believe — from Latin Mass Catholicism to rainbow-transgender flag-waving Unitarianism.

Unfortunately, what you want to believe is not the same thing as what you need to hear.

Thanks to social media and the internet, we have never had access to more information, faster, than anyone who ever lived could have even imagined. And smart phones have put it all in our pockets.

So then, why are we so stupid? Rather than use this awesome power to make us smarter, the envy of every living creature that preceded us, we have all created digital blinders for ourselves, and we wear them as if they were badges of honor.

For example, viewers of MSNBC have a decent chance of not even knowing there was a second attempt on Donald Trump’s life, unless they were watching that Sunday. They certainly haven’t heard much about it since then.

Fox viewers, on the other hand, know every little detail of both attempts and are hot on the trail of a “mole” inside the Secret Service supposedly working to empower the next loner to get a shot.

On MSNBC’s website, as of this writing, the story of Mark Robinson occupies the top of the “must read” list. It’s not a news story — like everything on the network, it’s an opinion piece. “Ditching Mark Robinson wouldn’t solve the GOP’s North Carolina problem” is the headline by someone with the biography, “Ja’han Jones is The ReidOut Blog writer. He’s a futurist and multimedia producer focused on culture and politics. His previous projects include ‘Black Hair Defined’ and the ‘Black Obituary Project.’” I hope the Pulitzer Committee hasn’t already made up its mind for 2024.

Meanwhile, the story at Fox is, “Video resurfaces of Harris chanting ‘down with deportation’ at 2018 parade with disgraced actor.”

Notice the difference? Try this one, then. Fox has, “Pro-police coffee shop owner wins $4 million in free speech suit against university officials. Meanwhile, MSNBC has: “I’ve seen ‘Momala’ in action. The GOP should be ashamed of themselves.”

The only thing consistent is that people in these audiences only want to read news that doesn’t challenge their worldview. And I should add that viewers of those two specific networks are not the only ones.

Polls with positive results for Kamala Harris are treated as gospel on MSNBC, while those with good news for Trump are hyped throughout prime time on Fox. Neither network is exactly lying, but viewers of one are going to be in for a very rude awakening on November 6, or whenever certain states get around to counting their ballots.

In 2022, Fox viewers were left stunned by the lack of a “Red Wave,” something they had been conditioned to expect. MSNBC occupies a world where Donald Trump is seen as Hitler Junior. On Fox, inflation in swing states is going to be the difference-maker, while on MSNBC, hosts insist people are concerned about Trump becoming a dictator.

Viewers can construct their own worlds through which media they choose to consume. But reality is not dependent upon anyone’s comfort level with it. Both sides are doing a major disservice to their audiences by giving them exactly what they want and calling it “straight news.”

One side is going to have its bubble burst after Election Day, the other will have its bubble solidified. Which one is worse? Either way, we’ll all be worse off and less informed.

Derek Hunter is host of the Derek Hunter Podcast and a former staffer for the late Sen. Conrad Burns (R-Mont.).