Written By: Anton Sawyer
In an attempt to maintain complete transparency, all research and statistical fact-checking for this article, and all articles, can be found at our site's bibliography linked here.
Consider supporting our mission on Patreon
The 2020 Election; This Nightmare Will Never Be Over (A Tale of Division During the Digital Age)
When I see the headlines about the country never being “more divided,” I can see why. Between ANTIFA, The Proud Boys, hate crimes steadily rising over the last five years, and both the Republican and Democratic parties name-calling, mudslinging, riling up their base, then sending them to the trenches, it is a nightmare out there. But in reality, as a country, we’ve been worse.
In the history of the United States, there have been five times where the electoral college vote winner did not receive the popular vote—1824, 1876, 1888, 2000, and 2016. Out of these, the elections of 1876 and 2000 stand out. Though both outcomes were determined by government branches; the House of Representatives in 1876, and the Supreme Court in 2000—with the latter being incredibly divisive for sure, it was handled in a MUCH MORE diplomatic way.
The 1876 election was a total nightmare. Fraud—and by this, I mean actual election fraud, not fraud as currently used by the Republican administration as a tool to stoke fear—intimidation, cajoling was all on center display in this miasma. Florida, Louisiana, and South Carolina were wrought with threats of violence against Republican voters. The designs of the ticket in each state had been done differently and were ultimately confusing to everyone. This was similar to the voting ticket issues of Florida in 2000, but a hundred times worse, and done with the specific intent of sowing confusion. Eventually, a committee was enacted by the House that brought the compromise of 1877 (all 20 disputed Electoral College votes would be given to Hayes in exchange for the Republicans withdrawing federal troops from the South). This put Rutherford B. Hayes as the President over Samuel Tilden by an electoral vote of 185-184. The citizens were not too pleased and weren’t afraid to express it. So in all reality, our country has been divided far worse in the past.
So what makes 2020 different?
With "bleeding heart liberals" and "heartless capitalists" being used as insults for longer than anyone can remember, have the philosophical basis for each party changed that massively?
Or is it something else?
The answer comes down to access to knowledge and what people choose to believe.
In the 1800s, if the government or any other group with power didn’t want something known, it wouldn’t be. The need to hide things of great importance from large amounts of people has been around since the dawn of man. However, with the internet and international databases at our fingertips, the last 25 years has brought such an explosion of knowledge into the lives of anyone and everyone, that ignorance has become such an active decision as to be a parody.
Mr. Trump had said the U.S.-China trade tariffs were great for the country. With information readily available on the World Wide Web, we know they nearly bankrupted the farming industry. He then had to allocate more government assistance with taxpayer funds just to keep those same farmers afloat. Or when Nancy Pelosi illustrates why she is the pinnacle of "Karen Technology" by pretending to be a moral leader who follows the rules of her health advisors, but becomes utterly petulant when she’s exposed to the fact that now everyone in the world knows the importance of her hair far outweighs any moral stock that she would like everyone to believe she has.
Everyone has seen both sides year after year, election after election, scare the hell out of anyone who is securely in their corner. Everybody knows that both sides are really only concerned about power and appearance, more so than they actually are about what is doing right for the majority of the population. And though we have seen technology hold a lot of people accountable for their sins, both sides also know how to control the narrative, and that if one of their flock is starting to roam, then that person will be shamed back into the herd eventually.
I know Republicans out there who do truly hold on to a sense of morality and want to help their fellow man but have become so disheartened by the words of Mr. Trump and the leaders that back him, that they’ve turned to apathy and let a piece of their soul drop when they vote party lines because they “have to.” For the plethora of Democrats I've encountered who hated Hilary Clinton, and aren't comfortable with the inner-party fighting between the old guard and the new, but will follow party lines because they don’t want to be thought of as “racist.”
That is why this page exists. For those who are tired of it all. For those of us who realize that people in power generally like to retain that power and will do what they can to keep it, and are tired of being so slanted to death by much of the media, yet want to still maintain awareness.
This is just a taste.
Every time you visit The Indie Truther, you will see us holding both political parties accountable through research.
Some times the articles may lay heavily to one side or the other, but it will not be done in an attempt to smear or trash anyone; if whichever political candidate you like holds on to enough of the same centralized pillars of your beliefs, then I encourage you to support them—but don’t be so foolish as to think they haven’t done something evil to someone, somewhere.
Follow us on Twitter