Let’s Not Be Stupid

America’s problems right now are not because of laws we pass. They are not because of health care, gun violence, or even Donald Trump. These, and many more, are symptoms. I will discuss some of those problems soon. But here I’d like to point out some underlying reasons.

1. We, as a public, have given up on critical thinking. We just believe what we want to believe.
2. We have allowed ourselves to put blind, unquestioning faith in certain leaders.
3. We have put party above all else--yes, even above country.
4. Honesty and integrity mean nothing.

       None of this is normal, and none of this is good.

Let me stress #1, since it actually leads to the other three: We have given up on critical thinking; we make and accept arguments that make no logical sense. We take positions that are against all scientific conclusions and reasoning.  We don’t care if we are right. We only care that we win the argument, using any “facts” we want, even if they might be wrong.

And while I say “we” I don’t mean all Americans. But it seems like many, maybe most of us.

For starters, I have a few examples here, all from just the last week. These trouble me. Not because I don’t agree with them. But because they just plain don’t make sense. Notice that these examples affect right-leaning stories. I see things like this on the left as well. But no matter how much I try to say “both sides,” right now it’s much worse on the right. Even the National Review, a very conservative publication concurs. Feel free to disagree. Here they are:

1) The FBI didn’t follow up on the Florida shooter because it was too busy with the Russia inquiry.
The FBI has over 35,000 agents. No intelligent person should believe that they can’t do two investigations at once.

2) We need weapons to protect ourselves from the government.
If the US military came after you, with all their advanced weaponry, do you really think your AR-15 would save you? Think about that honestly. You know you wouldn’t have a chance. Or maybe you think you should be allowed to own any weapon, like a nuclear bomb.

3) David Hogg, the student from Florida talking about gun laws is a not a student, but a paid actor.
When I saw this, I didn’t jump on it. I waited till I heard word from the school superintendent, as well as reporting of articles about this student from his school paper over the last 6 months. Think about this: if he didn’t attend school there, don’t you think the actual school kids would figure that out?

It used to be just conspiracy nuts saying this kind of stuff. No more. I’ve seen these stories and more on Facebook from people who supposedly are “reasonable people.”

These are easily proven wrong. But even when they are, people refuse to believe the proof, calling it “fake news.” They keep believing the story.  Or maybe they don’t believe the story, but they keep repeating it anyway. I’m not sure which is worse. But I know that truth means nothing. And this is destroying us.

It is interesting to note that, a week out, all agree that David Hogg is, indeed, a student. But the credibility of all those who said otherwise hasn’t suffered. Their followers don’t care that they were lied to. They’ll keep believing and spreading their lies.

I remember in the early days of the internet, I (foolishly) thought. “From now on, nobody will be able to lie or spread propaganda. All we have to do is search for the information ourselves.” I assumed that all people wanted to be truthful, wanted to know the truth. I find now, people are more interested in making arguments for their “side.”  This saddens and troubles me. I want truth, not stories that reinforce my opinions. And you should too.

I don’t know how we move forward in truth, if truth doesn’t matter.

My next article will show how this thinking affects one issue particularly.

Previous blog in this series: What Can We Do?

What Can We Do?

For the very first time in my life, I am worried about America. I’ve just seen too many things happen recently. Mass shootings, Russian interference, the ignoring of climate change, the trashing of our environment in the name of “cutting regulations,” heartless executive actions, our increased lack of respect in the world, the breakdown of how congress works (or doesn’t), many many scandals in the White House, the normalization of gas-lighting and lying, and about a million more.

But those things honestly are not what worry me. No, most of those problems are “up there” in Washington, or someplace far away from me. Politicians will always be assholes. But I’ve always had confidence that Americans will recognize the BS and vote them out. But no more. No, I'm surprised by the large number of normal people who either don’t care about those things, or even more amazingly, actively support them. Or maybe don’t even know about them because of the limited one-sided news they consume.

In any crisis, we basically have two choices: try to make a difference and change it (fight), or just accept it, hope for the best, and try to stay sane (chill). Neither one of those choices is the “right” choice. It depends on who you are, and what you have the power to do.

Some complain when athletes or actors talk about their political or social beliefs. But I understand it. Most of us don’t have much of a stage. We’re pretty unknown. But let’s take LeBron or Chuck Norris. They have a stage, and they choose to use it. Not because they hate America. On the contrary, they talk about their beliefs because they love this country and they want to make it better. They could go the other way, of course. Like Tiger or Michael Jordan. Those two both pretty much avoid any kind of political or social statement. Neither way is “right.” But for me, I think I'm more LeBron than Tiger.

So what can we do? As for me, I’m a little old to run for congress, and I don’t think Marcy Kaptur is retiring any time soon. We all can vote, call our congressman… and most of us do those things. 

Or we can choose to put stuff on Facebook--which sometimes I do. That’s the biggest stage I have. But that normally just pisses people off. It rarely helps; many times it actually hurts.

The only thing I can think of, at least for now, is to put my thoughts in writing, in the hope that some people will read them and get to thinking. And to do so in a way that hopefully inspires thought, not anger. Without making fun of people's opinions, or belittling them in any way. I like to think that if I explain something well enough, it will be fodder for some people’s thoughts. Maybe it won't make any difference.  But hey, I can try.

So in the next few weeks, you’ll see things I’ve written. Most are about politics and the country, but there will be some on other topics, such as social media. I hope they’re read by many people, including those who disagree with me, or else really, what's the point? I hope you’ll find them fair, even if you don’t agree with me. I won’t put these writings on Facebook, but I will link to them there. And twitter as well. 

If you find them interesting or helpful, feel free to share them. If I find they’re getting read, I’ll keep it up. If not, well--nothing ventured, nothing lost, and I’ll move on to something else.

Look for them here. I’m old, not dead, and it would be great to make a difference. We’ll see.