Washington State is split geographically, politically, and socially by the great Cascade mountain range. This polarized state will act as a model for examining how basic identity assumptions originate, become manipulated, and are maintained. We will ask questions like; what are our own assumptions of Washington state’s different geographical communities? How do such assumptions extend to perceptions regarding broader national communities? Who or what play a role in the manipulation of these perceived realities? How do our manipulated ideas of reality becomes “facts”? How does the media operate with an invisible perspective? When talking about extremism, how do perceptions of powerlessness manifest in different sociopolitical locations? And finally, if we can identify the void, can we attempt to bridge it?