The joke recently is that republicans live in an impermeable bubble where facts aren’t able to penetrate it. Bill Maher has been doing a weekly bit on his show Real Time with Bill Maher called “Dispatches from the Bubble”. This may be a joke to explain their cognitive dissonance in politics, and there is a lot of truth to it but Republican citizens aren’t necessarily to blame for this bubble.
Watch "Dispatches from the Bubble"
When reading a blog post, Facebook page or even watching a video on YouTube, it is important to pay attention to whether it allows comments that challenge the view being presented, and if it doesn’t it should be a sign of its credibility (of course there are exceptions but this is something to pay attention to). Sites that allow comments but block anything that questions or challenges its view also help create this bubble. This is dangerous because those who agree don’t get to see comments challenging it and from their perspective by not seeing these comments it looks like everyone agrees with it. It is one thing to block comments that are disrespectful, but to block comments simply because one doesn’t have a good rebuttal is extremely dishonest and a perfect example of how bubbles can be created.
Churches are another reason for this bubble; those going to church on Sunday trust their pastor more than politicians. If a pastor talks about who they believe should lead our country, their opinion is likely to persuade how the church members vote. There are many different religious beliefs and Christianity which is the most popular doesn’t even agree on everything and they can’t all be right. If religious leaders success rate on picking which God to follow is so low, what makes them think they are in a position to choose who should lead the country?
Let’s face it, even if one religion was right, that is still an alarming amount of people who have a false sense of reality. This false reality causes many to embrace their religious view over anything else which creates the impermeable bubble that doesn’t allow facts to enter.
If Republicans are not being shown an honest rebuttal of their own beliefs and ideas than what other conclusion can they come too? Silencing ideas that challenge a particular view is a problem and if our ideas and beliefs are constructed biased on facts, than we should welcome counter arguments to see if they hold up. If we are afraid to ask or entertain questions - than we are insecure about the truth.
Everyone needs to realize, it’s alright to switch teams in politics, and there is no shame in looking at both sides of an argument and coming to a different conclusion. By doing this, it shows others we value the truth over our own ego. For too long, admitting we are wrong has been seen as a weakness. It is time we associate admitting being wrong with strength, because those who can do this only become stronger while those who can’t continue to stay weak with an inflated ego and false sense of knowledge.
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