There was a time when a person's word meant something. Even to go as far as legally binding. Back when everyone feared punishment by a deity for "bearing false witness," until the Fairness Doctrine was revoked under President Reagan in 1986. It was the end of ethics in broadcast media.
Print had been corrupted since before Edward Bernays published his book Propaganda in 1928, perhaps all the way back to when the railroad barons hired journalists to be their Public Relations operatives.
Now, old people still cling to what the talking-heads in the main-stream media say, and take their words as truth. It's an old habit that cannot be shaken off by the Baby Boomers, so they vote the way they are told to vote, instead of checking what was said, with what was actually done.
This may account for why more people try to resolve their differences through violence instead of discourse. The authority of language has been so diminished by cynicism, by deception, that physical violence seems to be the only compensation. The increase in mass-shootings are finally beginning to change people's minds, after decades of ignoring warnings from groups like Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America.
Young people gained the benefit of the Internet, to verify what's being said, with the behavior of those who say it. At least until Net Neutrality goes away, which may be this December (2017).
New generations in the age of the Internet peeled away the veneer of false propaganda, distortion of history, "alternative facts," and in so doing, like staring into the eyes of Medusa, became inflicted with stony irreverence.
What will become of our world after this? The Internet opened Pandora's box and gave us a taste of what it's like to be truly informed and able to hold deceivers accountable. What will we do when the powers that be, finally close the box?
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