A not-too-subtle subtext of a New York Times piece (shared via gift article) on the petty political divide that threatened to tear apart a Colorado town portrays Fox “News”–and the network earned those quotation marks in 787.5 million ways–as the gas-throwers on a local ember of discord.

Silverton, a town of around 800 people that triples in size with tourists, was in the midst of a common problem in rural towns:  the influx of people moving there from “the outside” and making their personal marks on their new hometowns.  That, of course, leads to conflict with the long-standing residents regarding growth and the traditions that locals practice–like riding ATVs down the streets of the town, which only had one paved road.

After a local resident sent Fox “News” a video of a protest at a town council meeting showing residents definitely reciting the Pledge of Allegiance after the town mayor suspended saying it at council meetings because of death threats sent to one person who refrained from participating, Fox producers jumped at the chance to make the sleepy town the center of one of its fomented “culture wars,” sending a crew out there to hold a live shot in which local conservatives trashed the “carpetbagger” mayor, a Colorado native who had moved back to the state after attending college and working in New York.

After Fox added fuel to the fire, local government officials and offices started to get threats.  The city hall was closed temporarily due to bomb threats, likely from viewers of the Fox spin, not residents of the town, who all knew each other.  A cadre of local conservatives called for the recall of the mayor and several town council members.

But what Fox didn’t show–and the New York Times did a great job of illustrating–is that the “cultural divide” Fox promotes isn’t unconquerable through communication.  The Times followed what happened in the town next:  a mediation group started bringing opposing people together, first in 2’s and 3’s then in larger groups, to get them to communicate about their concerns and visions for the town.

And guess what?  For the vast majority of residents, their concerns matched.  The people who moved to the town hadn’t wanted to change its culture; they moved there because of the culture.  All sides agreed that they shared a vision of slow growth for the town, and one that provided for preservation of local culture.

While the town’s Congressional representative, Republican theater groper Lauren Boebert, called the town’s mayor “an American disgrace” without the least bit of self-awareness and with Fox “News” continuing to try to stoke division, the town shut them out and solved their problems locally, largely bridging their divides.

“That’s my fault, I’m being 100 percent honest,” 63-year-old Fox viewer Albert Heirich said of him sending the clip to Sean Hannity, who targeted individuals in the town. “When people were making bomb threats to town hall, I felt awful because that wasn’t my intent.”

But that was Fox “News” intent:  exploitation for ratings.