Hate speech. Divisive rhetoric. Insurrection. Today Americans are divided, perhaps more than ever…at least since the civil war.
But how did the country get this way?
In "The Second Civil War: A citizens’ guide to healing our fractured nation," bestselling author Peter Montoya dissects how fear-based messaging and highly accessible technology have resulted in what he says is the early stages of a second civil war.
Now, Montoya, the founder of the multi-million dollar company, Marketing Pro, is building a new tech startup, called Urth, designed to address all of that. It’s a community-driven social media platform that has a big mission: “To empower humanity with the technology to perpetuate the survival of our species.” Not a modest goal!
In this Lean to the Left podcast interview, Montoya is not shy about saying that Urth will go after Facebook by providing a platform that is much more secure and free of bots and fake accounts that foster division and hate, and, thus, will earn the trust of its users, who will be called "Urthlings."
That’s what we talk about today as we have Montoya with us on the Lean to the Left podcast. Here are some of the questions that we posed to Montoya:
1.Are saying that social media is at the root of the divisions within our country today?
2.Why are people so addicted to social media?
3.What’s wrong with traditional social media? Sometimes it makes me crazy.
4.What is this conflict about and why do you think we’re in a second civil war?
5.Why do we hear so much about Cancel Culture: What’s that about?
6.Does shaming and shunning those with whom we disagree change their behavior? Have you seen that backfire?
7.Tell us about Urth, where does the name come from and what’s Urth’s mission?
8.How it will Urth be different from what we’re using today, and why it will be better?
9.The website’s home page…at www.urth.cc, says “We are a mission disguised as a technology. Then it adds: Urth is a civil media network empowering real-world action to solve global problems.” How so? Please explain.
10.Does Urth lean one way or the other politically? Why? Why not?
11.I understand listeners can get involved in the early stages of Urth. How can they become Beta Testers? And what does that mean, what would they do?
12.What’s your ultimate vision for Urth?
Take a listen.