Moving forward, for a democracy (where truth, integrity, honesty, inclusiveness, rule of law and peace matter) to thrive and flourish, there must be complete and honest sharing of actual news and ideas, among the entire populace, without fake news or conspiracy theories.

In our country, I understand that only 20% or so of the population gets its news from reputable networks and news channels. The balance, approximately 80% – including many young people – get their news from social media, which is infested with lies and fake news. And they believe and act on it.

This is the single biggest threat to democracy and the pursuit of truth.

If we or our children get our news from social media and not from reputable newspapers and news channels in our local areas, we should hardly be be shocked or surprised to learn that folks are being conditioned and controlled to hate and sometimes radicalized.

But here’s the thing: In our great state of Maine at least, we know that if we took the time to reach out and get to know folks from the so-called other side, who are very “different” from how we perceive ourselves, we may quite well discover many decent, hard-working folks who we have a lot in common with. We may find folks who are generous and kind. This we know. Serendipity.

Ravi Koil
South Portland