Introduction: Understanding the Politically Charged Media

This particular life hack is meant to address perception; how can one navigate the media, in particular, the news, and find fact from fiction? Regardless of if politics are involved, political bias is going to be present in all of it. A recent example would be the Oregon shooting, and how it is handled in the aftermath by Fox News versus The Huffington Post. While it is obvious to some, others might not notice the bias present behind each news organization, and how that factors into what information they are getting. With this in mind, let's try and weed out the left from the right, and how that serves each side of the political spectrum.

Step 1: Equal Opportunity Vs. Freedom: Morality

Especially in recent years, the two parties in the United States have become increasingly ideological. This serves purpose, because it pushes people that don't particularly want to be involved with a party towards one of the two, as they generally serve a particular set of ideals. That ideology, is a question of morality which many people on both sides of the equation fail to grasp a lot of times. The liberal believes in equal opportunity, which is that everyone has a fair shot at life, and the ability to operate successfully within it. However, in order to successfully grant equal opportunity to everyone, certain freedoms need to be suppressed from all people. The other side of that coin is the argument of freedom. The ability to operate freely within the world without restrictions could also be seen as a strong case in favor of morality. However, in order to successfully grant this type of freedom would essentially give people the ability to hinder others' ability to act freely. These core elements are important to note, as upon closer inspection, the media can be gauged based on their political bias depending on which end of this spectrum they cater to.

Step 2: The Liberal Perspective & Who They Serve

The Democratic Party fundamentally serves equal opportunity. Big government and a fundamental belief in a level playing field. Some examples of news media which serves this agenda include:

There are plenty more, and while they may not necessarily serve the party by directly endorsing specific policies or platforms of the Democratic Party, the liberal spin tends to put the Democratic Party in a positive light. However, with that in mind, Ben Carson's views on gun violence could be seen as horrific from this end of the spectrum, where it could be celebrated on the other end of the spectrum.

Step 3: The Conservative Perspective & Who They Serve

The Republican Party believes in the importance of individual freedom, meaning less government intervention on a wide range of issues. News media that tends to lean right include:

Just like with the Democratic Party, right wing news doesn't necessarily cater specifically to the Republican party, but the ideologies present at these news networks tend to lean towards individual freedom, meaning they still serve that agenda. Understanding this fundamental belief in freedom among conservatives shows how Limbaugh will talk about cronyism from presidential candidate Bernie Sanders when the liberals argue entirely against it.

Step 4: The Art of Compromise

While I have my own political affiliations, they are irrelevant to the lesson I am trying to teach you. I am not saying to abide by the liberal ideals or the conservative ideals. To understand the argument of freedom versus opportunity is everything in American politics, and the drive behind the actors on both sides of the equation are still rooted in morality. Be wary of the facts presented, and the facts that aren't; multiple perspectives are important in a good democracy.