We've all heard something along the lines of the phrase "there are two sides to every story, and somewhere in the middle lies the truth." This phrase is applicable to fallouts with friends and significant others, tiffs between siblings, court cases, news rooms and election politics. Our nation's two-party system generously allows this to happen, and it is growing increasingly effective at dividing citizens each day. An often referenced enabler to this issue is lack of general knowledge concerning domestic issues and world events, but something that doesn't get brought up enough outside of political research is bias.
Television news and Internet articles are a convenient place to get information as all you have to do is turn on the TV or go to your favorite station's homepage. All of the information is there from speeches and scandals to analysis of party platforms, and utilizing these seemingly reputable resources should provide you with the most accurate, up-to-date information. Unfortunately, that is not always the case.
Affiliates of each party have no reservations about dragging supporters of the opposing side through the dirt, contributing to and creating each other's negative stereotypes in the process. This is not restricted to general citizens spouting off to their friends on Facebook. It includes politicians, news reporters, blogs, articles and sometimes even university professors if they choose not to hide their political affiliation and corresponding opinions from their students. In the world of two-party politics and mainstream media, the two platforms tend to get exaggerated and twisted, sometimes leaving their supporters unknowingly misinformed.
ABC News is known to deliver its coverage with a liberal bias and commentary. CNN has been referred to in the past as "Clinton News Network" (take that as you will), and Fox News is known to deliver stories and commentary with a highly conservative bias. If you've got a wild hair for some knowledge, I suggest researching your favorite news network to see cases of censorship in the midst of live coverage, scandals, misinformation, lawsuits, journalists and company owners. You might be receiving less accurate information than you think and there are some interesting research studies out there concerning most major news networks! As humans we like to see what we like to see, it's plain and simple. We are drawn to news reporters whose commentary aligns with the way we feel and we watch the conventions and debates that concern our partisanship.
Aligning oneself with a certain ideology and wholeheartedly knowing that it is the choice that represents your values requires knowing what you are choosing not to support as well. If you are an independent voter or do not affiliate yourself with a particular platform, it is especially important to be informed of both sides' platforms and goings-on. It is painful for liberals to sit through a heated and uncivilized debate between Trump, Cruz, Rubio, Fiorina and Kasich. Conservatives just as equally dread watching the upcoming DNC-hours and hours of Hillary's lies (disclaimer: there are conservatives who do not support Trump and liberals who do not support Hillary-in no way is this article a statement that every supporter in each party is uniform). While you can get the highlights from your preferred news source and you can watch five minute excerpts in articles covering certain gaffes, you cannot be sure of the context and you cannot be sure of the direction unless you have watched the entirety of the event yourself.
It is our job as citizens to inform ourselves, and that is not limited to only learning about what you are supporting and denouncing. The two major parties break up important issues such as gun control and abortion, but it isn't as cut and dry as saying one is pro-abortion and one is "anti-abortion" or that one party wants to take everyone's guns and the other wants to let anyone and everyone run wild with assault rifles. There are conditions and nuances in stances among members of the parties themselves. In order to be able to state what you are opposed to, it is important to know exactly what you are advocating and what you are fighting against. There's nothing more embarrassing than making an inaccurate claim in a political debate with Aunt Sheila on Facebook, right? But seriously. Please educate yourself on a holistic level. Your votes and involvement count, make it be informed and make it mean something.
