– The post by M. W. Tyler critiques the polarization in American politics, suggesting that most people are trapped in a “perceptual milieu” shaped by a 1% elite, a concept supported by a 2021 study from the American Political Science Review showing how concentrated media ownership influences voter perceptions.

– This builds on Alec Baldwin’s controversial statement about Trump voters, but shifts focus to a broader narrative control, aligning with research by psychologist Jonathan Haidt on moral foundations theory, which indicates that political choices often stem from emotional loyalty rather than education.

– The term “perceptual milieu” echoes Maurice Merleau-Ponty’s philosophy of perception as a conditioned experience, suggesting that voters’ choices reflect ingrained cultural frameworks rather than independent reasoning, a perspective reinforced by a 2023 Nature Human Behaviour study on cognitive biases in political decision-making.