Don't Follow the Crowd; Lead with Thought

Those that know me best know that I do my best to avoid political conversations and arguments. I do this for two reasons:

1. Generally, these conversations occur with people who have diametrically opposed views from my own and neither of us are going to find any productive value in the conversation.
2. I believe that my Christian faith instructs me not to engage in these types of conversations because they are "unprofitable and worthless" (Titus 3:9, ESV), which I discuss further in my Bible study on A Christian's Political Responsibilities.

With that being said, our current state of politics is incredibly disheartening and it seems that there is no way to fully avoid fruitless conversations. Everything these days seems to devolve into divisive political garbage; recently, for instance, simply pointing out a very basic scientific fact drew the ire of someone who tried to bait me into an argument. Mind you, I did not post any political ideology, sentiment, or call to action, I simply called out that a recent Executive Order failed to acknowledge basic biological principal.

Further, it seems that some people in my sphere have made their political affiliation a key aspect of their entire personality. Throughout my life, I do not remember a time where so many people have attached their identity to their political affiliation. To me, the danger of this shift is that by doing this, people no longer search for truth, they simply buy into what they are spoon fed by those in the party that they support; instead of seeking out facts, they delve into their echo chambers seeking to simply validate their beliefs. Personally, I believe in constantly challenging what I believe as it is important that we hold justified beliefs (Epistemic Justification) because if we hold conflicting beliefs, those beliefs become irrational. Being able to take in new information that potentially challenges our beliefs gives us a unique opportunity to either ensure that our beliefs are in fact rational or to change our beliefs.

Additionally, it seems that people have altogether stopped caring about nuance and context. This observation spans way beyond my personal sphere of friends and acquaintances. I would say that this has become the case for a majority of Americans today. To me it is central to successfully and cooperatively participating in society to recognize both nuance and want facts to be delivered in context for a myriad of reasons chiefly:

• Nuance allows us to accept that fact that often there are very few aspects to life that present a true dichotomy and that most of our experiences in this life exits in various shades of gray.
• Context ensures that we are not being misled or lied to. The image below shows just how easy it is to craft whatever narrative a person wants when the context is not provided.

When we have the desire to seek context and understand nuances of situations, we are better able to develop beliefs and understanding in a complex world. When we hold sound believes and understanding, we are better able to participate in society.

What I Have Been Doing

Social Media

As I stated back in my first blog post, I have been trying to get away from social media—a endeavor that has proved most difficult. Though I have not made the break yet, I have reduced my time on social apps and have set ground rules for the time that I do spend on them. I think that as I have started distancing myself from the toxic streams of information that Facebook algorithm has for me, I have actually become happier and had less anxiety.

The Library

In addition to weening myself off of social media, I have begun leveraging the resources offered by my local library. If you don't have a library card, you are missing out! Beyond simply checking out books, I have been utilizing the interlibrary loan program, accessing peer-reviewed research journals, and taking advantage of their newspaper subscriptions—I hate paywalls. These FREE resources both provide entertainment and allow me to develop better understanding of what is going on in the world.

Digging Deeper

I have been taking time to "go beyond" the headline when keeping up with current events. As noted above, I have been leveraging the library as part of this, but I also purchased a subscription to Ground News which is an awesome app that not only compiles news stories but also provides information about publishers (political leaning, ownership), bias of coverage of a story, and factuality. I have been using this information to make sure that I am getting balanced information from multiple sources and identifying and addressing biases in my reading habits, as well as ensuring that the news I read is based on fact—remember, kids, opinion pieces are not news!

Play Along at Home

If you too have a desire to eschew the current talking heads of the 24/7 "news" (opinion in reality) cycle, become more knowledgeable about current events, and seek the truth, here are my top recommendations.

Turn off cable news (CNN, Fox News, CNBC, NewsMax, etc.). These are not news organizations, they are entertainment corporations that have a bottom line to maintain and a goal of simply increasing viewership to increase ad revenue. Instead, read your news from reputable sources and make up your own mind rather than having your opinion spoon fed to you by corporate interest.

Get a library card. Being armed with a library card allows you access to almost all of the knowledge that you need to better understand the context and nuance of current events as well as to challenge bad reporting. (I will probably write a post one of these day about all of the benefits of a library card, stay tuned.)

Learn about rhetoric and how it is used to manipulate people (often with sophist tactics). Aristotle composed the seminal guide to persuasive communication; I have distilled it down here to an oversimplified guide to assess the three most critical aspects of arguments being made:

• Ethos: The credibility and character of the author, speaker, etc. Are they:
  • Trustworthy?
  • Knowledgeable?
  • An authority on the matter at hand?
  • Virtuous?
  • Have the audience's best interests in mind?
• Pathos: These are the emotional appeals that are being used. This is one of the easiest ways to manipulate an audience, target an emotional response.
• Logos: The logic of the argument. A proper argument will avoid fallacy, be rational, and supported with data or relevant examples

Keep your bias in check. We all have inherent biases—or unconscious attitudes—that influence our decisions, perceptions, and actions, often without us being aware of them. Developing these biases are unavoidable as they are created through our cultural, social, and personal experiences. What we can do is work to be aware of them, and do not let them color our fairness and objectivity.

Stop making everything political! Not everything needs to be about politics. This is especially true if the basis of your opinion was given to you by a corporation or you can't back your arguments up with facts. If you are going to engage in this behavior, then at least read and understand the Constitution of the United States—the whole thing, not just the Bill of Rights.

Never stop educating yourself. I wholly believe that a day that one does not learn something new is a day that was wasted. This does not have to be academic, but can also include learning about one's self.

The unexamined life is not worth living

Plato Apology

Further Reading

After you go out and get your library card, here are a few books that I recommend and that I think are germane to current affairs:

• Rhetoric by Aristotle
• Gorgias by Plato
• On Becoming a Leader by Warren Bennis
• The Prince by Niccolò Machiavelli