I appreciate getting a view from an uninvolved spectator, myself. Thank you for sharing. I realize that there is always so much hype about each thing, but I never know where the truth lies. I've heard very similar stories such as yours from friends who have done this same thing for the same reason across the country. It seems the "hype" and the angry mobs and all that are blown out of proportion by the media more than anything else. Not at all surprising, but there you have it.

There is a huge range in the media, varying from largely factual to extremely biased. That's outside of the opinion pieces that are clearly marked as such in more reputable sources. The [Media Bias Chart](https://www.adfontesmedia.com/) is one source of ratings, but there are others to cross check that against. I get most of my news from the least biased sources. I avoid right and left leaning sources unless I want to see the spin they are putting on stories so that I can better understand how people who in those camps think. We really need visible rating systems of sources and articles; otherwise, we are doomed as a democracy. We also need more Americans to actually spend time researching current issues from neutral sources. 

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