Whom do you believe?
Politicians. We know they tell some stretchers or outright lies to get elected. Why would they stop now that their new goal is to get reelected? Mark Twain told us “America has no established criminal class, excepting Congress.”
Half of Congress has criminal or amorality records — everything, short of murder. That we know of.
Posts on social media, even if it is from someone you know and trust, they may have been misinformed or deceived by someone with an agenda you might not approve of, if you knew the whole story. No one fact checks anything, except maybe in the comments section. They are the modern equivalent of scribbles on bathroom walls, but we can’t even judge the origin, penmanship, grammar or spelling. We can be led down a rabbit hole of increasingly dystopic misinformation.
Mainstream media, aka “lamestream” (a meaningless insult). We have to break that down. Print media from your local paper to the big national papers, some of which have been around for over 100 years. The reporters are trained to search for and distinguish truth from nonsense. They are supervised by editors who are experienced and educated both in language and critical thinking. They have a code of ethics that includes corroboration. If you did not see it yourself, find two sources for the story. Don’t publish rumors. Of course, they might have a bias, but don’t we all.
Talking heads. Some have been experienced journalists who also were telegenic like Walter Cronkite or Edward R Murrow. We trusted them implicitly. Others, unfortunately, are just actors or even models. They will read the news without any thought about what they are saying, and often more concerned about the presentation than the message. Inevitably, they will say something so inane that others will joke about it.
Salesmen, like politicians, want you to buy what they are selling and may exaggerate to make their product look better in your eyes. Fortunately, the store usually gives refunds if the product is not fit for the intended use. In politics, you are not stuck with what you paid for until the next election.
Actors — so many become politicians. Is there much difference between portraying a senator on television and portraying a senator to convince the public one should be a senator? Image is everything to get reelected. Even in office, they spend most of their time portraying what they are really not, for the sake of reelection.
Books do not run for election. The authors have a few goals. One, sell lots of copies to make money. Two, explain something complicated in a way that most people will be able to understand it, or three, explain it in a way that makes most people feel helpless. We need reviewer journalists to help us decide which books to trust. Hint: The one that ridicules the others is not likely to be trustworthy. Most reference books are around for decades and get frequently updated and corrected.
The internet can be a very good link to good information, but it’s up to you to verify the quality. Medical advice from a well-respected clinic or public agency is a good start, especially if two or more agree. Advice that emphasizes products — see salesmen above.
It’s best to exercise you critical thinking skill. Anything that sounds too good to be true probably is not. Verify, verify, verify. Use Occam’s razor. The simplest explanation is most likely the correct one. A complex, confusing answer needs a detailed explanation, like a proof in mathematics or physics.
The “government.” That depends a lot on what part. Government departments, like the weather service, can be pretty helpful. Other sections are political, and their values might not coincide with yours. A general may see going to war as the answer to almost anything. Courts and lawyers might want to debate back and forth ad nauseum until nobody remembers what the original issue was. Read politicians, above, again.
Educators. Well, that depends on what they teach. With math and science there is seldom controversy. History was written by the winners. Religion has its own immutable truth. Language is what it is, but one wrong comma can start a war.
Ken Obenski is a forensic engineer, now safety and freedom advocate in South Kona. He writes a biweekly column for West Hawaii Today. Feedback is encouraged at obenskik@gmail.com.
