LIVE with The Famous Dr AL and Lyle Greenfield

Lyle Greenfield on Political Divisiveness in America

Host: Dr. Allen Lycka

Guest: Lyle Greenfield, author, and founder of music production company, and former president of the Association of Music Producers (EMP).

Topic: Discussing Lyle’s book Uniting the States of America: A Self-Care Plan for a Wounded Nation and how to address political divisiveness in the U.S.

Introduction

Dr. Allen Lycka introduces today’s guest, Lyle Greenfield, who has had a diverse career spanning landscaping, door-to-door sales, the music industry, and wine production. Greenfield has written several books, with his latest focusing on America’s political divisions. The book offers a self-care plan aimed at fostering unity amidst the current state of polarization in the United States.

The Writing Journey

Question: How did the writing bug bite you?

Lyle shares that writing was one of his strengths in school, although his career took many different paths before he began writing about politics. He felt compelled to write Uniting the States of America because of his growing frustration with how public discourse has become riddled with hostility and divisiveness, particularly in the last few years.

The Impact of Social Media

Greenfield and Dr. Lycka discuss how social media has amplified the divisions in the country. Lyle points out that social media’s algorithms encourage people to remain in echo chambers, only exposing them to ideas they agree with and stoking animosity toward opposing viewpoints. He reflects on how media consumption has changed dramatically, from the days of limited TV channels providing mostly impartial news, to today’s endless opinions and fragmented information sources.

The Call for Empathy and Dialogue

Lyle emphasizes the need to dial down the rhetoric and foster empathy in political conversations. He suggests that while disagreement is natural, it is crucial to understand others’ perspectives and recognize that Americans share much more in common than they realize. He calls for a return to more civil discourse, where differences of opinion don’t lead to personal attacks.

Addressing Social Media Addiction

The conversation shifts to how Americans, especially young people, are spending increasing amounts of time on the internet and social media. Greenfield highlights that teens spend an average of four to seven hours per day on social media, leading to a sort of "addiction." He suggests the need for education around digital literacy to help people, especially children, discern between fact and misinformation. He praises Finland’s approach, which introduces digital literacy to children as early as pre-kindergarten.

News as "Edutainment"

Both Lyle and Dr. Lycka agree that the modern news landscape is designed more to shock and entertain than to inform. They criticize how news media has become a business that often plays to people’s emotions rather than providing objective reporting. Dr. Lycka notes that focusing too much on polarizing issues like elections, wars, and international conflicts can distort people’s perception of the world and lead to feelings of overwhelm.

Bio:

Lyle Greenfield is a man of many experiences. He’s worked in landscaping, construction, door-to-door sales, and a brewery before starting his career as a copywriter in NYC. Greenfield has served as president of the Long Island Wine Council, started a music production company in New York, is a founding member and former president of the Association of Music Producers (AMP). Greenfield is the author of several books including Uniting the States of America: A Self-Care Plan for a Wounded Nation, which was written with the goal of finding solutions for the current state of political divisiveness in our country. 

Social Media:

WEBSITE: https://www.lylejgreenfield.com/

https://www.instagram.com/greenfield___uniting/

https://www.facebook.com/lyle.greenfield.5

https://x.com/@areyousitting