We’re quickly approaching July 4th weekend where people around this incredible nation will celebrate in a variety of ways. It may end up feeling very different than past celebrations given the current state of affairs, but Independence will nonetheless be recognized.

Almost 250 years ago thirteen colonies exclaimed their Independence from Great Britain and formed a new nation. This period is marred with controversy and hypocrisy no doubt, but the spirit of the ideas formed was that of individuals being separated from monarchial control. We now refer to this period as the Age of Enlightenment. A time where reason…skepticism…and science became prevalent in a society where tradition and orderly rule had previously dominated.

We have come a long way since this Declaration was made. Civil and human rights movements have brought about positive change. Technology and access to information is abundant, and provides a level of flexibility and insight that our founders could have never imagined. With this access however there is also a noticeable increase in dependence upon it.

While it is of course an election year, something I’ve noticed as of late is that we as a society (myself included) will rely on our dependence of information access to provide confirmation bias. Throughout history opinions would be molded and formed largely through conversation and introspection. These days we can simply tune in to our media outlet of choice, or hop onto a preferred social platform and our biases are quickly confirmed for us.

It is this dependence that concerns me at times. Increased tensions and spewed vitriol are commonplace in years like this one, but a lack of independence of thought seems to be gripping our world.

From an investment perspective we talk about sentiment. Often times sentiment picks up to a level where it becomes glaring that a shift in momentum could be imminent. When forming opinions in my every day life I’ll frequently use this kind of sentiment indicator. When an abundance of people are shouting something and that an outcome is obvious, expect the opposite.

So where am I driving with this piece?

While we are no longer confronted by tyrannical rule in our everyday lives, we now have a system in place that if we are not careful could unknowingly entrap us. The upcoming holiday may stir up a variety of emotions and you may have different thoughts about it than I do. What we can hopefully agree upon however is that reclaiming our independence in how we form opinions will be critical in this hyper informative and heavily biased age. Find outlets and people that will respectfully engage in discourse so that we can begin to break free from our dependence on a heavily divided system that profits from disunity.