The middle is normal. Fringe is not.
What Happened to the Middle?
I watch TV. That's probably my main problem.
If I didn't watch TV, I wouldn't notice that fringe groups get the most attention. The entertainment industry loves fringe. From sitcoms to movies to the evening news and religious programming, fringe sells.
I understand it from a marketing standpoint: Fringe is provocative. Fringe is interesting, stimulating, inciteful. Far Left, Far Right, both are extremes. Extreme is what people want. Extreme Sports, Extreme Experience, gimme more and now.
Modernity has endowed us the time to get bored. You're bored, so bury your head in your screens and find something really outlandish to entertain your brain. There's nothing wrong with a little entertainment. There's nothing wrong with appropriate doses of anything. Unfortunately our yearning for more dopamine is now a driver in politics and global governmental interaction. We want huge. We want impact. Enough is not enough.
Somewhere in America there are those in the middle. Just people. They get up every morning and go to work. They don't have time for social media, podcasts and mental fiddle-twiddle. They have to make a living, pay the bills, keep the lights on.
We are invisible to media. We are dull, boring, normal, not at all exciting or attention-worthy. We are the center of the bell curve.
We are the middle.
We can't help but notice the blustering noise coming from the fringes. It's impossible to ignore it all the time. But we don't allow ourselves to be sucked into the vortex of viscious verbiage and vindictive vacillation that permiates our modes of entertainment. We may be aware, but we are not amused.
Someone once said, "It takes all kinds." I say no, we just have all kinds. Tom Russell put it this way:
We've got fundamentalist Muslims,
We've got fundamentalist Jews,
We've got fundamentalist Christians,
Who'll blow the whole thing up for you.
Fringe. Outliers. They represent a small minority. A combination of our fear of missing out and our dissatisfaction with our status quo mixed with our lust for stimulating media input pushes them to the forefront where all too many otherwise intelligent people fall for the illusion that they are impactful leaders. The media named them 'influencers', and rightfully so. The middle are enticed away from the center to more radical thinking.
Like the loudest member of a working committee, the fringe are amplified by our commercial interest in attracting views and clicks, and so are perceived by consumers to have perspectives worthy of consideration.
They do not represent me. Neither end of the spectrum. Not far right, not far left. Here in the middle I sit just hoping that some day my friends and neighbors will catch on to what's happening. Stop drinking the koolaid, people. Step away from the fringe. Stop empowering them to run your life. Think for yourself. Open your eyes.
All together, the middle majority could be a Thing That Works. There's always hope.
