Many of the challenges we face — the pandemic, climate change, civil unrest, the erosion of democracy — are being made much worse by a common, underlying factor.

Big Media organizations (especially cable news, talk radio, and social media) are monetizing misinformation and hate.

And many politicians have built on this, fueling their power with hate and lies.

This media-political complex has monetized and weaponized hate and lies.

Destroying America has become a big business for them all.

I think we need to address this basic problem, or we will continue to struggle with other challenges forever.

We can’t stop a pandemic or climate change if media organizations and politicians deliberately spread lies.

We can’t stop violence if politicians and media spread hate.

But what if we changed this?

Campaign finance reform? Yep. Overturn Citizens United? That will help too.

But I think we may need something more radical.

Hear me out...

What if we banned all for-profit media. Period. 100%.

Media organizations can still exist, but they must be non-profits, and not be allowed to take any advertising. None.

They could accept limited donations and subscriptions, but that’s it.

Stop fueling hate & lies with money.

Sound crazy? Maybe.

But we have the right to do this.

After all, the original airwaves used for broadcast TV and radio belong to the public. Let’s take them back.

And the infrastructure used for cable and internet communications was invented and paid for by us, the public.

Without the profit incentive for media and social media platforms, the fuel for spreading lies and hatred goes down considerably.

Break the business model of this media-political complex, where they profit on the destruction of our country.

Think about it.

Who loves Trump even more than right wing media? The left wing media and social media platforms.

It’s fueling eyeballs, clicks, engagement, and revenue.

Dividing us, fueling hate, and spreading lies has become their business model.

I know this will sound crazy to many people, but please stop and think about it.

What if we had news outlets with no ads, no commercials, and just an hour a day or so?

Remember Walter Cronkite?

We talk about the need for poltical reform. Hell yes.

But let’s also reform the media too, and break this vicious cycle that’s breaking our society.

A crazy thought? Maybe. But I honestly think we need to tackle this for our nation to thrive.