The Independent Spirit
Newsroom
THE PREMISE
Much has been written about the fracturing of America. We are all keenly aware of the rising distrust between our various factions. Many of us have lost friends and loved ones to the bitter religion of politics, what Tara Westover eloquently refers to as “the breaking of charity”. Like most everyone else, I found the state of affairs depressing and impossible. That is, until, I read the article “How America Fractured Into Four Parts” by George Packer published in The Atlantic. The insightful article takes a deep dive into the “how” and “why” of this fracturing. After a clear-eyed examination of history and having laid a thorough groundwork for this moment, Packer makes the persuasive case that America is currently divided into four ideologies namely Free America, Real America, Smart America and Just America, each narrating the story of America from its own limited, subjective understanding and experience.
Packer didn’t write this but I believe each of these ideas to be a necessary part of the American psyche. The problem is that the adherents of each ideology believe the others to be intentionally disingenuous. The whole truth of America is far more complex and nuanced than each side is willing to concede. Yet in that whole truth lies hope, I think. That is because one of the primary causes of this seemingly intractable divide between the various factions of America is that their sources of information are different, each calling the other’s sources “biased”, “bogus” and “fake news”. So…
What if we could devise a way in which Free America, Real America, Smart America and Just America walk out of their silos to make a cohesive and united American story?
“The Independent Spirit” aims to do just that by bringing together ALL FOUR ideologies on the SAME SHOW. So viewers can see how these fragments are part of a whole.
THE PROPOSAL
In some ways, the show can be summarized as “SNL Meets News” but it is so much more than that. Instead of making a parody of famous people/politicians, we intend to make fun of the four ideologies themselves by calling out the myopic bias inherent in each. We will do this through delivering the same news by four different talking heads/pundits who personify these four Americas. We will call them “Free Ayn”, “Real Ron”, “Smart Alex” and “Just Jasmine”. Applying the principle “Reduction to the Absurd” to each narrative, we will bring humor to the topic at hand. At the very least, the audience would get to see that whatever truths they hold to be self-evident, have at least three more differing interpretations to them! There may be value in that insight alone. Through the partisan bickering of the four angry talking heads on the show, the audience would also get to see how their version of “truth” may be perceived as disingenuous by others. As the pundits remain entrenched in their own viewpoints assuming complete monolpoly on truth and showing no signs of maturity, a wise-ass kid; cheekily named “Independent Indy” takes matters into her own hands! Indy builds a witty & cohesive argument on the topic that weaves together the fears & hopes of all four sides.
THE PROJECT
The project will bring together a diverse team of writers & journalists with differing political persuasions, willing to have their own biases checked by teammates & ready to use the power of comedy, irony, satire, questioning, reason and potentially occasionally song – to change the hearts & minds of Americans so we can see each other once again as fellow humans with real hopes & fears, with each a different lens on reality.
The natural home for this series is YouTube, and it can be accompanied by Instagram and Facebook stories. Given the complexity of the project, it could launch as a monthly or a biweekly series, and finally make its way to becoming a weekly program like “Saturday Night Live”.
This is an ambitious project, one that will test the intention and resolve of anyone involved and whose objective – a United America, may very well be impossible to achieve at this hour. But – hope is a verb with its sleeve rolled up! It’s time some of us rolled up our own sleeves and show up to tackle the biggest challenge of the moment.
If Lyndon Johnson was right, that would be in keeping with the American spirit.
Or as WE would like to say “The Independent Spirit”.
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