Opinion

Independent authors cover the political spectrum and perspectives. Authors share their opinion on a wide range of topics on local, state, and national issues. Articles in this category express the opinions of our contributors, not IVN as a whole.

6 Ways to Have Agency — and Harness the Facts — in the Post-Truth Era

We can no longer deny that we are living in a post-truth era. It is real, and it has tragic consequences. But the situation is not hopeless.

By Anthony Rao PhD

/ October 7, 2019

6 Ways to Have Agency — and Harness the Facts — in the Post-Truth Era

Who among us could have imagined the post-truth era? Yet, when ‘alternative facts’ abound, when deception and lies are shrugged off as just spin, when the U.S. president has

By Anthony Rao PhD

/ October 7, 2019

Fixing the News: The Power of Solutions Journalism

Changing your media diet is like changing your food diet. To make it sustainable, it is not enough to leave out unhealthy items. Much more important is to focus on

By Jodie Jackson

/ September 19, 2019

Fixing the News: The Power of Solutions Journalism

Changing your media diet is like changing your food diet. To make it sustainable, it is not enough to leave out unhealthy items. Much more important is to focus on what is actually good for us.

By Jodie Jackson

/ September 19, 2019

Admit It, Dems: You Don't Want to Win in 2020

The knock from Republicans, Never-Trumpers and moderate Dems is that most of the 2020 candidates are too far to the left and out of touch. Last week’s display confirmed it. This was a definitive example of a party controlled by its fringe elements, preferring purity over victory.

By Reed Galen

/ September 18, 2019

Admit It, Dems: You Don't Want to Win in 2020

If Democratic Party leaders aren’t re-watching last week’s debate in Houston, they should. If they have watched it and aren’t freaking out over what they see, it’

By Reed Galen

/ September 18, 2019

In the Upcoming Presidential Election, Can We Stop Demonizing “The Other”?

With unconscious biases driving our perceptions, and political rhetoric and a flood on information fueling our animosity, the level of societal incivility continues to heighten. Here are some ways to break the cycle.

By Howard Ross

/ September 18, 2019

In the Upcoming Presidential Election, Can We Stop Demonizing “The Other”?

The U.S. Presidential election is more than one year away, yet campaigning is well underway. And while election season once signified a ramping up of vitriolic rhetoric aimed at

By Howard Ross

/ September 18, 2019

OPINION: Democrats Are Killing Their Chances With Independent Voters

A recent L.A. Times Op Ed tucked under the Times’ Politics vertical suggests that an L.A. Times poll indicates that, “Democrats are missing an opportunity to brand Trump

By Wes Messamore

/ September 17, 2019

OPINION: Democrats Are Killing Their Chances With Independent Voters

Instead of trying to manipulate voters into thinking something they clearly don’t think is true -- that Donald Trump is too conservative -- Democrats would do better to advance a candidate that’s not too liberal.

By Wes Messamore

/ September 17, 2019

Bad Solutions and No Solutions: The Two-Party Failure on Gun Violence

Referencing events in El Paso and Dayton a week ago, the editors of The Lives of Guns, commented via Politico, “The two mass shootings this weekend have inflamed a gun-control

By Craig Berlin

/ August 12, 2019

Bad Solutions and No Solutions: The Two-Party Failure on Gun Violence

Welcome to California Voter Disenfranchisement, GOP

Some 5 million Republican voters may soon learn what nearly 6 million independent voters already know: The State of California engages in partisan-driven voter suppression. In an unprecedented move, the

Chad Peace

/ August 8, 2019

Welcome to California Voter Disenfranchisement, GOP