Scapegoat in chief

I am not a fan of Donald Trump, but I am not a fan of his critics either. The media has especially been problematic. We have seen all sorts of deceptive practices including skewed selection of statistics, removal of context, opinions stated as facts, and outright lies. Not only has the media gone out of its way to fuel hatred, they are trying to pin the blame on Trump for just about everything.

For years, the public's trust in the media has declined. The way they have treated Trump has done a lot to validate the criticism. While Trump has pushed fake news even when the news provides legitimate criticism, he is clearly not at fault for the media destroying its own credibility. Despite the obvious trends that predate Trump's candidacy, the media has been pushing the idea that Trump is behind the trend. In an odd twist, the media tears apart Trump's trustworthiness then brag that people trust them more than Trump. Do they really think that it makes them look credible if they insist on that they should be compared to someone that dishonest?

Racial tensions also spiked before Trump started his campaign. Barack Obama spent his presidency injecting race into everything. This made blacks more wary of whites, and whites more resentful of blacks. Predictably, these races showed more hostility towards each other. We saw the rise of the Black Lives Matter hate group followed by the Charlston church shooting.

Like the distrust of the media, Donald Trump's rhetoric has been blamed for the ongoing trend of increasing racial tensions. The Southern Poverty Law Center has, on multiple occasions, cited increases prior to Trump's election as proof of his detrimental impact. This is despite the abundant evidence of the trend that predated any signs that he was even planning on running.

What's wrong with society right now? There is a lot that I don't like. According to the media and other liberal sources, Trump can be blamed for everything. Never before have they had such a convenient scapegoat. Considering how critical I had become of modern day America prior to Trump's political rhetoric, I think there's more to our problems than just Trump.