To the editor:

I’m aware of community members who stopped watching Fox after it was legally determined that the network had knowingly spread defamatory lies. These same people decided to start avoiding the murky ugliness of social media (which will only get worse now that Meta has decided to no longer fact-check).

Why are people turning away? Because toxic cynicism and overly-biased accusations result in the release of stress hormones that harm our emotional/physical health. And none of us should be subjecting ourselves to that.

Trump-supporting venues excel at sparking outrage just for the entertainment value that keeps audiences tuned in. TV commentators, making millions of dollars, keep their jobs by repeating skewed ideas and conspiracy theories. The more name-calling and divisive chatter the better — if it generates the hyped emotions that get people upset and angry at one another.

That’s why to me the saddest thing that has occurred in our country is how a lack of fundamental, non-partisan information has destroyed healthy and realistic political understandings among families, friends and neighbors. It speaks volumes that there are Americans who know more about Trump and his bullying than the positive things President Biden or anyone else in this country accomplishes on a daily basis.

Consider how sweeping, over-generalized statements have brought about biased, unfounded political attitudes in this country. “All politicians lie”? (That’s cynicism, not a fact.) “Social programs waste taxpayer money”? (That’s a cherry-picked statistical twist used to get people mad at the government.) “Democrats are elite intellectuals looking down on the working class”? (That’s an assumption that is no different than labeling all Blacks as lazy or all rich people as selfish.) “Democrats are fiscally irresponsible.” (That’s an accusation. The Harvard Belfer Center and many economists studying history affirm that the US economy does better under Democratic administrations favoring job growth over Republican administrations favoring tax cuts for the rich.) False, manipulative ideas end up sending people into very unhealthy and negative emotional states. And I’m not really sure how we can help voters understand this — especially if they’ve been totally convinced that every source or person not supporting Trump and the Republican Party must be wrong or lying.

But for the sake of everyone’s health, perhaps we could support one another in choosing to eliminate hyped news reporting and divisive media from our lives. If we can’t help another person understand how choosing to gravitate toward purposely-jaded, fictionalized soundbites damages one’s emotional well-being, we at least — for our own sake — can turn away from the onslaught of any media (whether right-wing or mainstream) that projects a toxic cynicism poisoning us all.

Martha Hodges

Massena