One Nation: What We Can All Do to Save Americas Future
Actor Chris Evans has been fighting for democracy onscreen for years in his part as Marvel superhero Captain America. Now he's taking the fight to real Americans with the launch of his new online platform, A Starting Point.
Evans developed the website forth with man of affairs Mark Kassen and tech entrepreneur Joe Kiani to accost a growing problem with political soapbox: that advice betwixt Americans most political issues is budgeted a level of strain that can seem insurmountable — to the point that many are giving upward trying. The site'due south founders feel the situation is unacceptable, every bit free, articulate and authentic spoken language is a key component of a healthy democracy. A Starting Betoken is designed to go a solution that enriches advice between individual Americans and between citizens and their elected officials. Simply will people take Captain America's political site seriously?
Getting Started With A Starting Point
The site, in the words of its founders, is "a video-based borough date platform" on a mission to "create a bipartisan channel of communication and connectivity between Americans and their elected officials with the goal of creating a more than informed electorate." Its method for achieving that goal? Allowing political leaders from all over the country to film and upload quick videos of themselves discussing pertinent topics and engaging in civil debates with one some other. The site's intention here is to provide politicians the opportunity to create raw, unfiltered and honest (a niggling more than on that later) content without taking a side or highlighting one indicate of view over some other.
One fashion information technology aims to attain this is by keeping things simple, allowing the focus to remain on the content from politicians. In that location's no analysis, no breakdowns of their videos, which lets viewers consume and analyze information on their own and keeps the site itself impartial while also ensuring that the videos remain the true centre of attention. A Starting Point looks deceptively basic, which again is meant to keep the video content at the forefront. At that place aren't big paragraphs of exposition to slog through, just quick bullet points explaining the goals of each section so viewers know what they can expect to gain from watching content on the unlike pages. In addition, the videos themselves are short and to the point — they're snackable then viewers tin grasp the main takeaways of an issue, statement or stance with ease.
The site is organized into a few key sections for like shooting fish in a barrel navigation. From both the homepage and the site'south menu, visitors can access a welcome video forth with A Starting Point's main content subsections. These include "Starting Points," which are two-infinitesimal-long videos about a range of electric current topics similar healthcare, economics and teaching along with answers to questions related to those topics; "Daily Points," which is a freestyle forum where contributing politicians can mail service one-infinitesimal-long videos about their perspectives on different problems; and "Counterpoints," which positions ii politicians with opposing viewpoints in a argue-style discussion utilizing video responses. Each of these sections includes a brief rundown of its purpose and of the issues addressed in the videos. And in that location'due south no product hither; the politicians decide what they want to talk about and film the videos themselves.
Finally, in pursuit of that goal of creating an informed electorate, A Starting Signal visitors can enter their Nil codes to notice out who their elected officials are and whether those leaders are using the site. They can also annals to vote in upcoming elections using A Starting Point'due south link to TurboVote.
Helping Users See Beyond Their Own Points of View
Ane of the biggest goals the website is looking to attain revolves around helping users understand all sides of a given issue. Due, in function, to the influence of algorithm-driven social media, many people primarily accept access to news sources and facts that reflect their own opinions, and they often but see posts on social media that reinforce their existing opinions instead of presenting cohesive arguments from the other side. The more readers link, share or comment on articles they like, the more often like types of websites and news articles display on their social feeds, creating an endless loop that further fortifies one point of view.
This phenomenon can exist more than dissentious than people realize. It chop-chop feeds into groupthink and perspective bubbling where individuals retain access to only those facts and examples that support what they already concord with. As individuals continue to hear just one side of a discussion, they may become and then convinced of their ain indicate of view that they avoid or dismiss any cognitive dissonance — the discomfort they take when presented with information that doesn't fit with their existing opinions virtually a subject area. When they aren't given the pick to confront their ain beliefs, appoint in disquisitional thinking and access information that may crusade them to question their beliefs, they don't have the opportunity to learn, grow or change — potentially for the ameliorate.
A Starting Bespeak is built to accost and dismantle this. It presents a range of sides on any given result and commits itself to remaining not-partisan — giving both of the major political parties, along with others like Independents, equal access to a platform where they tin explain their ideas and highlight problems that are their summit priorities. Also, unlike social media sites (looking at y'all, Facebook), A Starting Signal employs fact-checkers to review the politicians' content in an attempt to cultivate a more accurate collection of media. The issue is a knowledge base for critical thinking that may lead to improved controlling on viewers' parts once they've reviewed accurate data most (and from) a range of perspectives.
Learning From That Range of Perspectives
With any kind of high-contour website that tackles bug of national importance, information technology would be like shooting fish in a barrel to focus only on the most prominent politicians. That'southward not what this platform does. Instead, it includes officials who are in the best positions to offer valid takes on given issues that are relevant both to their constituents and the American public as a whole. Top-ranking officials are certainly present, but others are, too.
A Starting Signal'south vast list of contributors includes prominent senators from effectually the country, but it too provides a platform for state governors and even city mayors. This variety allows the site to showcase a variety of opinions, of course, but it also provides constituents easy access to their local leaders' viewpoints in an hands digestible format — with data coming directly from the politicians themselves. This kind of straight-from-the-source communication is all too uncommon in this era of spokespeople and biased news outlets, and information technology can aid viewers non only learn about just also form better connections to what's going on in their communities and what the people in charge are doing about it.
This in particular is where A Starting Betoken'southward Daily Points come up into play. This area of the site is open to all the contributors who accept signed upwardly, and it'due south designed equally an open forum where the politicians can upload videos about whatever topic they want to address. As mentioned, the videos hither can be no more than a minute in length, which forces the participants to condense what they want to address downwardly into the most salient points.
The outcome is that it facilitates viewers' understanding of bigger-moving picture ideas thanks to the quick-bite format. Information technology'due south also piece of cake for them to watch a wider range of videos — and expose themselves to a wider range of perspectives in the process — because watching five or even 10 Daily Points doesn't require a large fourth dimension commitment. It also won't overwhelm viewers with a flurry of confusing details. The videos appear in a chronological feed, and they're organized with tags for like shooting fish in a barrel access; this social media-esque formatting is familiar, something viewers will be comfortable with. And that ultimately improves the site's usability while providing access to many perspectives.
Hither's Where the Site Actually Shines
The platform's construction addresses some of the advice imitation pas that are seen regularly in other formats like large town halls, morning talk shows and cable Television receiver news networks. Call back back to the last time y'all watched a boondocks hall-format discussion on a news network. Did it speedily escalate into participants yelling over each other? Or was information technology an echo bedroom that lacked stimulation or intrigue considering everyone shared the aforementioned bespeak of view? These and other poor advice behaviors, which can plow off the public and become barriers to civic engagement, aren't elements of A Starting Point.
Why is that? The Counterpoints section, for one matter. This surface area of the site allows two politicians with differing opinions to create pre-recorded video clips responding to each other in a give-and-take of a given topic. The word format allows participants to get their points beyond conspicuously in their filmed clips, and it also prevents them from interrupting their peers. Listeners tin can hear each participant'due south entire perspective — free of interruptions that cause the discussion to devolve into a shouting or name-calling match.
In improver, the time lengths on the videos foreclose officials from talking on at length, which helps in impartially controlling a conversation. A give-and-take moderator on live Tv could allow someone who shared their same opinion to speak at length and then turn around and cut off another participant who has an opposing bespeak of view. The sort of inbuilt moderation that's native to A Starting Signal's platform prevents this type of censorship and gives everyone equal opportunities to share and reply. Participants in Counterpoints also are each allowed to tape a closing argument reiterating what they feel are their most of import points or arguments, sort of similar the wrap-up to a debate, to reinforce their ideas.
Another benefit of the platform'southward structure is that it allows users to hear responses and views in an unedited form. They can clearly see and hear what each official is proverb, not hear spin or get information through the filter of some other commentator or potentially biased reporting source. Because the video clips are pre-recorded, the politicians likewise have a take a chance to clearly articulate their points. They don't have to worry well-nigh existence interrupted and can program out in advance what they want to say and how they'll say it. Once viewers watch a set of Counterpoints videos, they can decide what they call up for themselves.
Are Americans Ready for A Starting Point?
It's one thing to have a platform that'south committed to showing both sides of what are often controversial issues. It'due south another thing for the public to then appoint in civil, constructive discourse. Can people stay civil in response to the videos and utilise them to get more educated, or will the site just contribute to media noise? Only time will tell.
In an interview with media watchdog Columbia Journalism Review, Margaret Sullivan, a media critic for The Washington Mail service, warns of issues with the site. She notes that it's set up to give equal weight to two sides of an argument, even if i of the sides lacks brownie — like, say, ane participant stating hydroxychloroquine can cure COVID-19. Giving this type of discourse a platform could ultimately be dangerous. Sullivan questions whether the platform would highlight both sides of issues like voter suppression and climate alter, which, when looking at bodily research and facts, don't really have room for opinions about whether the problems are occurring or non. (For the record? They're real, they're happening right now and nosotros need to practise something nearly them earlier it's besides late.) Information technology's as well worth asking whether A Starting Point would give a platform to those who encounter white supremacists equally "good people" or believe in vaccine hoaxes.
In add-on to this, many issues have more than two points of view. There can be 3, 4 or fifty-fifty more ways to view a topic, and in that location tin be variations and caveats nether the umbrella of just one of these opinions. Showing all perspectives is an important and admirable part of helping users to thoroughly understand an issue, simply it may evidence difficult on a site that appears gear up to create an opinion binary.
While the site'southward ultimate touch volition only come to calorie-free over fourth dimension, it's articulate that what A Starting Point can do right now is serve as an bodily starting point for people who have questions nigh journalism, for those who want to gain a better understanding of the The states' political climate and for viewers who want a simple introduction to current-events topics ranging from immigration to healthcare to the surround.
For now, we're left with some questions. What does it mean to be informed? When is presenting all sides of an issue a valid choice? How do Americans respond to information they don't concord with? What is the role of an editor in selecting and presenting information to the public? At to the lowest degree one thing is certain: Watching how A Starting Point'due south creators address these issues will be fascinating.
Source: https://www.ask.com/entertainment/chris-evans-new-website-starting-point?utm_content=params%3Ao%3D740004%26ad%3DdirN%26qo%3DserpIndex
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