David Scotton’s April 26 guest essay puts several important matters in focus. The headline says it all: “A deluge of voices makes it harder for people to listen.” I too am convinced that “social media” are tearing the country apart. The Reagan years saw the end of the “fairness doctrine” in network news, and that set the stage for the range of news channels today, not to mention the Fox phenomenon.

Now, thanks to social media, everybody has a favorite news source, and what we used to call facts are just options. Discussion and debate have turned into face-offs, and your opponent is not a person, but a threat to be avoided or eliminated. Where are “humility” and “fairness” in all that?

This climate of arrogance threatens the life of our democracy. This slow-moving crisis may be another reason why reporters and commentators tend to talk like agitated auctioneers, with barely a pause for breath. Drama may be what makes the news business go round, but no breathless drama is needed to hold our focus.

Unless we start expecting editorial responsibility in our social media, and tolerance in ourselves, Benjamin Franklin’s “republic, if you can keep it” appears to be headed for the ditch.

Charles Ferguson

East Vassalboro

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