By Steve Cave

Well Daniel, the “Media”, which we’re part of in writing this stuff, does have a huge influence on this campaign, you’re right. The best way to navigate it, in my opinion, is to think about the issues APART from the media. Give yourself some time to work through the issues when you aren’t watching TV or reading this blog. I have a disturbing suspicion that most Americans make their decisions WHILE watching TV.

Once you feel like you have some good thoughts about the issues, then watch some good shows and read up a little. That’s how I do it. But here’s the funny thing - it seems like no matter who you are, you feel like the majority disagrees with you. It’s true! I hear it all the time, from both sides! I lean more conservative, and I feel like all the shows I love are pushing a liberal agenda. I’m sure some are, but I’m also sure that I’m just sensitive! I had a great conversation with a liberal buddy who expressed the EXACT SAME frustrations! He felt like every time he wanted to watch TV or a movie, that the conservative agenda was being shoved down his throat.

I think there’s just no way around it. If you care, then you’re going to get upset over stuff. How do you navigate it? I think the best way is to develop a thick skin! And as to how you know if something is credible or not … I don’t know if you can ever know for sure. That’s just the way things are these days. I think it used to be the case that if you read it in the paper, it was likely true. Now, we’ve learned that all of these media outlets are all run by people, and at their best, people are just plain stupid. At their worst they flat out lie! Otto Von Bismarck said, “People never lie so much as after a hunt, during a war or before an election.”

This week's previous posts (most recent first): Forget Candidates, Filtering the Media