As a responsible human being that wants to live up to their label as “intelligent,” I implore us all to have a critical and discerning eye on what information one takes as “fact.” This applies particularly to the media we ingest on a daily basis…and specifically at this time of the year as we prepare for the election. Now I am quite aware that everyone has their opinions on issues and some even have firm stances on what party they support, but I would hope that every person out there has room for common sense and true fact seeking.
What do I mean by this? Well, I would hope people know the difference between entertainment and fact. The Daily Show = entertainment while the encyclopedia = fact. Wikipedia is NOT fact, although fact-based it still requires some validation and research. This goes for most things you find on the web and especially in the case of email forwards. A good way to check a website's credibility is to look at who sponsors it. If you are doing a research paper on abortion and find a website sponsored by a pro-life or choice organization, chances are they aren’t being unbiased.
Some would argue the news media is more entertainment than fact. I would just make sure that you get your information from a VARIETY of sources. Don’t be a hardcore FOX or CNN news devotee…check out the BBC and other news sources and deduce for yourself what you believe in.* Don’t just use it as your own thought…analyze it for yourself. When you do this on paper, it’s called plagiarism. When you do it verbally, I call it being irresponsible and sometimes gullible.
Now once you form your well-researched opinion, don’t preach it. I abhor people who tell me what to do and I’m sure you do too. My momma told me what to do as I was growing up, and although she had the best intentions, it still didn’t make me WANT to do it. Nor does it make you want to listen much further. I also believe that people are more prone to listen to other’s opinions when they have fact behind them. So please don’t say “because ‘so and so’ said so” as your reason…unless ‘so and so’ is the primary topic of your opinion, then it has no bearing. **
Then at the end of your explanation of your opinion, please don’t expect me to agree. I greatly appreciate your well thought out opinion and your thoughtful insight and time to explain it, but I may not be swayed or make a decision. Be inclined to listen to my side and if it comes down to it, agree to disagree. People need time to think about what has been said and ingest it. Just like how you came up with your opinion, I need time to ruminate about mine…taking all the sources of information and churn them in my own mind.
Really this all comes down to open-mindedness and respect. That’s all anyone really wants and we all deserve. Sure I love for people to agree and I will probably have a passionate argument and we may tussle, but in the end I would hope we have a meeting of the minds where you and I can learn from each other. We all are evolving and have the right to change our minds as new information comes to us. That’s what is so great about being intelligent beings in this nation…we have the ability to reason and adapt. Once we consider the ramifications of doing so, we have the choice to say, do, and think anything we want! Just please do it with a modicum of respect for others.
*Some places to validate stories you hear on the web/email:
http://www.snopes.com/snopes.asp
**And no offense to my religious friends, but “because God/Jesus/Allah/Satan/Master of the Universe said so” is not a reason either…and I say that because that deity is not here to prove it, nor did that deity say it in their own writing/words say verbatim what you just said. It’s all a case of a very long game of historic telephone.
3 comments:
Well stated. I could not agree with you more!
Sometimes, I get sent email chains which feed on the anxiety and excitement that people feel when they hear something not in accordance with their beliefs. And they believe it. It's kind of ridiculous, really. But you see it from both sides of the aisle.
You're right that people shouldn't rely on The Daily Show or its ilk for their information. But you do have to admit that they raise awareness of current events and politics. If people are smart enough to know that John Stewart and Nancy Grace are not THE definitive source--and that's a big "if" with a lot of people--then they'll do their research.
I like how you equated He-Man with God, i.e., Master of the Universe.
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