Author: Durriya Shamsi

Science, critical thinking, and skepticism is the cornerstone of any developed nation and our success lies in disseminating a scientific way of thinking and analysis.  Various strata of society can contribute to and reinforce scientific thinking.  Starting again from the powerful media to the influencers to the politicians, to educators to the personal level of household education.  At the media and social media level there is also a need for reckoning and for better safeguards for curtailing incorrect and unreliable information. 

Racism, divisions, and divergence are an inherent part of every country and every society. But in the past few years, these (and so many more) have bubbled to the surface rearing their monstrous head. The behavioral manifestations of these entrenched rifts are on display every day: acting out at kitchen tables, at political rallies, in the rise of vitriolic language, in the disintegration of relationships and the lowering of the national discourse. What are some of the reasons of this deep divide?

After a long and contentious election season the country still seems to be reeling and the schisms are deep and acute with no signs of respite. The situation feels perilous and unprecedented: we have an outgoing president proclaiming fraud while his own agencies are asserting a secure election and a staunchly divided populace teetering towards a deluge…