Well as an outsider looking in, America is as divided as I have ever seen it. Maybe you're already in a civil war and don't know it. Leaders like Trump, Putin, and Netanyahu pump up the hate rhetoric with their words and their actions and there will always be lemmings who follow such rhetoric blindly because they are incapable of independent and critical thinking.
WRT mainstream media- "Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain". Talk to people, don't just listen to the bullshyte in the news. Remember, the media has made it possible for candidates to win and lose elections- Charlie Rose, Nora O'Donnel and others were absolutely dumbfounded when Trump was elected the first time and sat there, on camera, asking "How could we have been so wrong?". Well, when they spent the previous three and a half years TELLING the American news viewers who they should vote for, it's easy to wonder but if someone was sitting on the sidelines and watching/listening to all of the crap pouring out of their mouths, it becomes a matter of "Don't tell me who to vote for!".
The candidates dig their own holes and try to bury their opponents and the way it happens in the US is absolutely disgraceful. Win a debate, don't sling mud. Also, the information overload with false claims makes it hard to vet the comments when people are trying to have a life outside of politics. Then, there's the stupid amount of money that's pissed away onb elections. They all talk about "I'm here for the little guy/poor/disadvantaged, etc". all while spending more than a billion dollars.
People are too willing to believe whatever they hear when it resonates- more people need to step back and look at the whole picture before making decisions.
